


Altered, Othered and Extracted

by MossyFlossy



Category: The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman
Genre: AU, Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Ending, Angst, Boarding School, Dark Ending, Emotional Hurt, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Innudendos, M/M, Multi, Platonic Relationship, mating cycle, school au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2020-04-24 06:48:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 138
Words: 114,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19167967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MossyFlossy/pseuds/MossyFlossy
Summary: A collection of one-shots that are either missing moments, alternative outcomes, just straight up alternate universes or me just writing whatever the hell I want to.Some of these have been posted on my tumblr, but most of them are just clogging up my phone hardriveYes, I fully intend on writing as many fics for this fandom as I possibly can.





	1. I'll always catch you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains: fluff, hurt comfort, blood

Kai swore, catching Irene just before she collapsed to the ground. Blood was steadily dripping from her nose and her eyes were hooded, she looked close to passing out, all pale and faint, breathing hoarse and rasping. She blinked, trying to force herself to focus and to look at him.

 

“Hey, I’ve got you.” He said softly, gently touching her cheek, ignoring the blood as it began to drip onto him. “I’ve got you.” She smiled, clearly not quite with it. She tilted her head to press it against his hand and he cupped her jaw.

 

“You always catch me.” She said. Definitely not with it. Her eyes, when she managed to force them open, were too bright, like she had a fever. “Always.”

 

“No I distinctly remember dropping you once. You weren’t happy.”

 

“Oh. Sorry.” He laughed.

 

“Don’t apologise.” His hand was still on her cheek as he looked down at her, cradled against his chest, bloodied and slipping out of consciousness. “Here.” He pressed his handkerchief into her hand and guided her hand to place to hold it over her nose. “Let’s get you somewhere safe.” He swept her up with practised ease, bridal style was the easiest way to carry her and her head lulled against his shoulder as he stepped over the prostrate bodies of incapacitated werewolves. Irene wasn’t particularly heavy, so it didn’t require much effort.

 

“How far until home?” She asked, sounding like a tired child asking their parent.

 

“Maybe an hour. Try and stay awake, alright?” He said, she shifted to press her forehead to the crook of his neck, inhaling sweat and cologne that clung to his skin. The nosebleed was slowing down now.

 

“Okay.” She muttered.

 

“I mean it Irene. Don’t fall asleep on me. You took quite the beating back there. I’m worried you hit your head.”

 

“Aren’t you hurt?” She asked, voice growing fainter with each passing minute.

 

“Nothing a night’s sleep cannot fix.” He said. A few bruises and small cuts, nothing like her nosebleed and probable concussion.

 

“You shouldn’t be carrying me if you’re hurt.” She said.

 

“Can you walk?” Silence. “Exactly. Maybe we can get the train. No cabs at this time of night.”

 

“You hate the train.”

 

“I’ll take the train over traipsing the street with you in my arms at two in the morning whilst you steadily bleed over me.”

 

“It stopped bleeding.” She said. “Mainly.” Her head was still hurting, and she felt tired enough so fall asleep in Kai’s arms but at least she wasn’t bleeding still. She could have fallen asleep in his embrace. Kai was muscular but not to the point where his arms were uncomfortable to lay in. He was warm, he was always very warm. And the sound of his heart made for a soothing lullaby and she could feel herself drifting in and out of consciousness, lulled by the steady beating. “Hey!” Kai jostled her. “I said don’t fall asleep.” She groaned and forced her eyes open again.

 

It was tricky to get through the train station turnstile with her in his arms, but he didn’t put her down and just struggled instead. The stairs were easy, but he was a little worried that he’d trip and they’d both end up falling. But the station was thankfully quiet, and they waited alone on the platform.

 

“You can put me down now.” She said.

 

“Yes that is not happening. I’ll put you in a train seat, but I’m not putting you down before.”

 

“This is just embarrassing.” She complained into his shoulder. “Please Kai. I Could give you an order.”

 

“And I am allowed to disobey orders.” He replied. “Especially if the person giving the order is in poor health with a possible head injury” He smirked down at her. His face was probably only a few inches from hers, and Irene realised that she could very easily kiss him from where she was. She then questioned why she is thinking that and came to the conclusion that she did have a head injury, normally she was better at controlling her feelings than this.

 

“You are the worst.” She muttered; voice swallowed by the roar of the train as it came rattling into the station with screeching breaks. She cringed and pressed her face against his shoulder, the sound rattling through her skull. Kai deposited her into a seat and took the seat next to her so that she could slump against him. “Literally the worst.”

 

“Of course.” He said soothingly (annoyingly) as he slid an arm around her shoulders and guided her until she was quite comfortably leaning on him. “Whatever you say.” She could feel his breath against her ear and scalp. It tingled. The train jerked into motion again, too loud and Irene turned to move closer to Kai, her forehead against his chest, hands over her ears. He ignored the feeling of her blood on his shirt and wrapped his arms around her to hold her tightly against him, one hand on the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair. “We’ll be home soon ‘Rene. It’s alright.” She forced herself to breath. It hurt.

 

Six stations later and Irene was now more pale, looking sickly and shaky, she couldn’t bring herself to protest as Kai scooped her up with ease and carried her out of the station. “Just stay awake a little longer. You can sleep once we’re home and we’ve got that blood off you.” He could feel her breath against his neck, shallow but at least it was steady. The station wasn’t too far away from where they lived so it only took a few minutes for them to get to the front door, and Kai had to set Irene down to find out his keys, keeping a tight arm around her so that she wouldn’t accidentally end up face down in the gutter.

 

He sat her on the edge of the bathtub and ran the sink full of warm water.

 

“Thank you.” She breathed as he dabbed the blood from her nose, lips and chin. “For carrying me home.”

 

“I wasn’t about to leave you there Irene.” He wrung the cloth out and soaked it again. “I quite enjoy your company.” That was one way of putting it, he thought. “And a new mentor would take time to train.” She managed a small smile. “That’s better.” He smiled too.

 

A lot of the blood was dry now and it took a while and several sinks full of fresh water to get all the blood off her. “I think out clothes are ruined, but that’s all of it off your skin.” He said, sitting back on his heels, looking up into Irene’s face.

 

“Cold water and baking soda with get it out.” She said. “I’ll deal with that tomorrow.”

 

“Alright.” He knelt up and kissed her forehead. “Let’s get you to bed. I’ll come and check on you in a few hours.” He got up and helped her up too. He must have pulled a little too hard because she stumbled into his chest.

 

“Oof.” She took a deep breath before looking up. He was looking at her with those dark eyes that she was sure she could drown in. Though he’d never let her drown. He always caught her. She swallowed sudden burning feelings and desires. She was in no state to act on them anyway. “Goodnight.” She said quietly, she brushed a gentle kiss to his high cheekbone, too short to kiss his forehead without standing on tiptoes and she didn’t trust her balance to do that.

 

“Sleep well.”

 

 


	2. Stay with me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains: hurt comfort

"I can't sleep." Kai appeared in the doorway, but Irene didn't startle, she'd heard his  footsteps. She was halfway through the process of forcing her files into ruthless order before she and Kai would have to go away and complete some unappealing tasks due to her probation.

"Well it's the middle of the day. So that does not surprise me much." She smiled but stopped when she turned to see him. He looked awful, almost sickly with clouded eyes and dark circles underneath them. He was slouching and didn't hold himself with the same dancers poise that he had done so just a week ago. 

"Irene. I haven't slept since Venice. I can't. I close my eyes and I see him." She crossed the room and hugged him tightly. It probably wasn't the affection that he wanted, but it was what he needed. He sunk into the embrace, tucking his head to put his cheek against hers. She felt him exhale. "Thank you."

"Someone tried to explain the benefits of physical comfort to me once and I didn't understand half of what they were saying. But it does seem to work." She said, turning her face to lean her cheek on his shoulder. "Something to do with dopamine I think." 

"It does." He said before stepping away again. "I'm just so tired. I need to sleep. I want to sleep. But I can't." He said. "I keep waking up, if I fall asleep at all."

"Nightmares?" He nodded and Irene sighed. "I don't know how I can help there. I have yet to figure out what works for those, for me or for other people." 

They sat on the couch, him leaning against her and Irene's arm still around him. She didn't know what to say. What was there to say that would put him at ease? Telling him he was safe now seemed pointless. "Maybe it would be a good idea for you to stay in the Library for a while." Irene said quietly, running her hand up and down his back. He stiffened under her touch and sat up, pulling away from her.

"You want to send me away?" His voice made her heart clench in a way that she wasn't sure it could. His voice had cracked and his eyes were wide with a deep emotional pain that Irene had managed to touch. 

"I want to protect you." She said. "I want to Keep you safe, Kai."

"I don't want to go away." He shook his head. "Please don't make me leave."

Hugging him again was a bad idea, she knew that she wouldn't be able to stop at just a hug. It was so tempting to cup his face and promise that she wanted him by her side before kissing him. But she couldn't. He was her student and he was under considerable stress. She returned to running her hand up and down his back again, he relaxed under her touch. He slumped against her side, head on her shoulder.

"I won't send you anywhere where you don't want to go." She promised. "I want you to stay too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has any writing prompts, send them my way, I love prompts


	3. Empty chairs at empty tables

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally posted on my tumblr but has been edited and I've added to it
> 
> Inspired by Empty chair at empty tables from Les Miserable
> 
> Contains: angst, suicidal thoughts, hurt comfort, blood, injuries

It was silent when they managed to make it back to Irene's quarters, bloody and bedraggled. A part of her mind said that it was deathly silent and try as she might, she couldn't drag herself away from that thought.

Quiet as the grave.

"Irene?" Kai touched her elbow, she had been staring down the corridor, a blank look on her face, but something in her eyes that he really did not like the look of. She shook herself and tried to look less... Well, she wasn't sure how she looked. She suppressed the urge to just turn to him and cry on his shoulder.

"I'm fine." Voice still a little hoarse from smoke inhilation. She pushed the suddenly oppressive weight of the silence to the side and made her way down the corridor, breaking the silence with the sound of footsteps. She tapped the code in and unlocked her door and flicked the light on. It blinked a few times before staying on. Vale sat Kai on the small couch tucked in the corner and she quickly cleared the end of it so that he could lay down. "I'll get my first aid kit." She was sure that she had one underneath her bathroom sink. 

"Irene." She couldn't bring herself to look at him. "I'm fine. Go and wash up and change alright, I'll survive." She swallowed, and nodded. 

She turned the water as hot as she could tolerate, steam flooding the small bathroom, before stripping out of the tattered remains of the previously beautiful ballgown, and kicking it away from her. Her legs wobbled as she climbed into the tub and she put a hand to the wall to support herself. Her head was spinning, eyes burning, breath catching in her throat. A tear slid down her cheek.

And the dams burst.

The sobs wracked her body, making her shake. She leant all of her weight against the wall, and slipped, it was slick now. She hit the floor of the bath with a loud thud and a jar of pain. She was coughing, choking on her anguish. Tears streaked down her face as much as the hot water did. She pressed her hand to her mouth, she could taste blood and ash on her own flesh and she thought for a moment that she was going to throw up, but there was nothing in her stomach.

Dead.

So many were dead. Because she trusted Zayanna and didn't think. Because she was stupid. Blind. Useless.

She gritted her teeth, trying to stop herself from crying. But she couldn't. She sniffed pitifully before coughing up bile and spitting it out, it washed away in a swirl of grey and brown. Her throat hurt and she coughed up more bile, gasping to catch a breath, dizzy and feeling faint. 

She lost track of time, how long she sat there and let the water beat down on her back, hot enough to make her skin turn pink. Eventually, she got up again, and washed. She scrubbed her skin raw, not satisfied when the water started to run clean, not satisfied until it hurt, until all of her hurt. Good. She'd had small cuts and abrasions that had stung to start with, but now her entire body stung and she forgot about the cuts and bruises. 

Her hair was a horrid birds nest that took time to pick free of knots before cleaning it, again watching the water streak grey with soot because it finally felt clean underneath her fingers.

Still she didn't get out. She couldn't bring herself to do it.

Oh my friends, my friends.

Maybe Zayanna wasn't a friend, but people on the list of deceased could have been called that. Her friends. Dead and gone and because of her. Because she was wrong.

And Kai... Bleeding and hurting because of her. He'd gone into danger for her and now she was bleeding all over her couch because of her stupidity. She clenched her hands into fists until her knuckle popped. 

Kai was far too good to her and she certainly didn't deserve it. Not before and certainly not now. 

Finally, she shut off the water and stood shivering for a minute, before she grabbed a towel and roughly dried herself before dressing in loose fitting pyjama trousers and a hooded sweater that was far too big. She felt like she was drowning in it, maybe it would smother her if she was lucky. 

She soaked a wash cloth in cold water and dabbed at her eyes until they were no longer puffy and it wasn't clear that she had just spent however long if was sobbing hysterically in the shower. Though with her current run of luck, they could hear her in there, she knew that the walls were pretty thin though she doubted that they'd say anything. Vale didn't like dealing with emotions and Kai wouldn't want to embarrass her. Or at least, not like that. 

She threw her ruined dress on top of the one that she had been wearing when her and Kai had stopped off... Was it only two days ago? Passage of time was a funny thing when your life was going to hell in a handbasket. Finally, with her firstaid kit under her arm, she returned to her living room.

Kai was laying down now a hand draped over his stomach, applying pressure to the worst wound, Vale sat at her cluttered desk. They both looked up at her. Vale gave her a quick once over, taking in the oversized jumper and the tartan pyjamas trousers. She didn't care for his opinion on it though. "Come on." She said, patting the kit. "Let's stitch you up. You're welcome to have a shower Vale. I don't have anything you can change into though." He looked down at his clothes.

"I think I'll manage in these again." He wasn't in anywhere near as messy of a state as she or Kai were, and only had a small bit of Kai's blood on him and ash streaking his hands and face. Kai was a much more sorry state and she'd have to see if she could find something for him to change into, or at least a clean top, maybe trade him the massive hoody and fetch something else for herself. 

"Ignore the mess in my room I know it's bad, I can't bring myself to care right now. Clean towels are in the cupboard above the sink." He nodded and disappeared as Irene began to peel back the temporary bandages wrapped around Kai's middle.

"Irene." His voice was rough, though all of their voices were thanks to the smoke inhilation, his had a catch in it. Pain threaded into his tone and made her want to smooth her fingers across his forehead and also made her want to curl up in disgust at the damage she had done. 

"Don't distract me." She said, pushing all thoughts but the stask at hand away from her mind. Her hands were shaking but she managed to thread the needle and cut the excess off the reel. "This will scar badly if I make a mistake." It would probably scar badly even if she didn't make a mistake. 

"I don't know, it could give me charac-" He sharply inhaled as he felt the needle pierce his flesh, he hissed. "Some warning would have been nice." She didn't respond, ignoring him in favour of concentrating, trying to stitch him up as tightly and as neatly as she could, before adding new padding and proper bandages to it. 

"That should hold." She said one she was done and she had found a cotton pad and some tape to keep them covered up. "Don't play with them, and please don't tear them." She sat back on her heels and gave him a once over, he didn't seem to be sporting any other injuries. 

"I know, I know." He slowly pushed himself up, breathing deeply through the pain. Irene tossed the needle and bloodied, torn fabric strips into the bin underneath her desk. "Thank you."

"You shouldn't thank me. You were right all along, my stupidity got people killed." She said quietly, bitterness seeped into her voice, more venemous than any snake or spider, a poison that affected more than just ones body. She took a shaky breath, holding onto the edge of the desk with a white-knuckle grip until she was sure that her hands wouldn't shake if she released it. 

"That isn't true."

"I should never have trusted Zayanna and now my friends are..." She inhaled, heart pounding, throat feeling too tight, like the words were a noose. "People are dead. And that's my fault. Zayanna sacrificed herself for me and then... And then?" She laughed, Kai looked alarmed. "I burnt books. I'm... They're dead when they should be alive. I'm alive and do I deserve that?"

"Please don't say that." Kai said, voice quiet.

He slowly got up, trying not to wince too much. Irene was about to order him to lay down again when he caught her in a tight embrace and kissed the top of her head.

"You are not to blame. You did not hurt anyone. You saved countless lives and you deserve to be here Irene. You deserve to be alive and here, even if you don't see that right now." He cupped her face, his hands were like fire, the only sensation, she couldn't even feel the fabric of his clothes, numb to the bone, feeling nothing but pain and his touch. She wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to feel that either. She felt unworthy of his comfort. 

"I don't think I have any clean shirts for you to wear and you can't walk around here without one." She said. "This should do though." She stepped back and tugged the hoody off and held it out for him. He took it and managed to pull it on with some struggle and a wince of pain, Irene stepping forward to pull it down to cover his stomach and all of the cuts. 

She should have been cold but she felt empty inside and nothing outside except for the second embrace that Kai gave her, with a whispered promise that she'd be okay. And when Kai finally released her and she went to see if there was any tea she didn't feel the temperature as she padded down the corridor in bare feet. 

The rooms she passed were empty too. She couldn't hear anyone, it was always quiet but there was always a back ground, ambient noise. Computers, pages turning, people talking about books. The table at the small communal kitchen was empty, belongings on the table sat there as if they were waiting for their owners to return and carry on from where they left off. They probably wouldn't.

It was raining outside, it was only right.

Empty chairs at empty tables, in empty rooms in a silent library.


	4. A Dragon thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kai's promise that they will talk before Irene leaves with Zayanna leaves a tough conversation inevitable

**"But when you get back, we are going to talk about the future."**

As soon as he looked at her Irene sighed, crossed to the cupboard and got out bottle and glass.

"Do you want some?" She asked tiredly, pouring herself more than she probably should have done.

"I am good." Kai said stiffly. Irene put the lid back on but did not put it away. "We need to talk."

"Well, you did say that we would." She said dryly before dropping down onto the armchair, she gestured to him with her glass. "Talk then. I am listening."

"You're being... Strange. I was expecting you to try and avoid this."

"Well I just watched someone die for me before starting a fire. I'm feeling strange. And I know you Kai. If I tried to avoid it, this would just get complicated."

The brandy was strong and burnt her mouth when she swallowed. Kai was still watching her. His eyes were dark, but it wasn't anger that she could see in them, if she was right, unlikely given how much sleep she'd had over the past few days, it was genuine fear that she was seeing in them. He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. Clearly, he wanted to talk about something but couldn't. Or wouldn't because he thought she'd react in a negative manner. Eventually he gave up and got himself a glass and poured himself a drink and tossed it back in one go before topping it up again, topping up her glass putting the bottle away and finally sitting opposite her.

"I want to protect you Irene." His voice was rough, he was choking back strong emotions for her sake. She just wished he'd stop handling her like she was glass and about to shatter.

"I know you do. But you won't always be able to. If you swear yourself to the Library, we won't be working together. You'll be off doing your own work. We probably wouldn't even be able to regularly meet up for a cup of tea."

"I know but... It- I can't explain it." He ran a hand through his hair before setting his glass down and burying his head in his hands, elbows balanced on his knees. "Do you ever feel the innate urge to do something?"

"Only when I'm hungry." Irene said with a shrug as she set her glass down and leant forwards. "This is a Dragon thing?" He snorted.

"Dragon thing. That's a good way to put it, yes. It's a Dragon thing." He said, bitter smile twisting his lips. "It's not possessiveness. Don't worry I do not see you as a belonging."

"It's a deeply rooted urge, a need even, to protect the people that I care for." He explained, dragging his eyes up to meet her own. "It's like... Like there are strings inside of me tied to the things I care about and when something bad happens, those strings are pulled, and I have got to do something. I cannot ignore that pulling. And when you left with Zayanna, when you were planning it, it was as if there was a piece of string around my heart and someone was pulling it hard enough to hurt. How could I ignore that? How could I do nothing when it hurts to watch you walk into danger?"

"I can't not do my job Kai." Irene said.

"I'm not asking that of you. I wouldn't dare. I don't want to control you. I just want you to be safe." He said. "I want to protect you for as long as I can."

"Kai..."

"Please Irene. Let me do this. Let me protect you whilst I can. I can keep you safe and learn whilst we go. You fulfil your duty as my mentor, I can keep you safe." She finished her drink.

"Alright."

"Bacau- wait. You agree with me?"

"If it helps you, then yes I'll agree."

"You won't find it annoying?"

"Why would I?"

Irene moved to sit next to him and touched his shoulder, he looked at her. "Kai. I will not change for you, but I will try to make things easier. I cannot make any promises. But if you want to come with me, I will not stop you again, unless I cannot take you. Alright?"

"Alright." Kai said, his voice was firmer now. "Thank you." Irene gave him a small, tired smile.

"I don't like seeing you in danger either." She said before standing up and stretching. "I think some rest is in order. If there is anything else, can it wait until the morning?"

"There isn't." Kai said, shaking his head and standing up too. He tried a smile and didn't quite manage it. Irene’s own smile was all warmth and comfort, he got to his feet, and caught her into a hug. Irene nearly squeaked in shock but managed to repress it. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really loved writing this one and I am pretty proud of it. I may write more exploring the more draconic side of things, I have a couple ideas up my sleevies. 
> 
> Enjoy and please leave comments, especially if you have writing prompts ^^


	5. Love letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Irene is bold  
> Kai is italics  
> Vale is underlined
> 
> Contaons: fluff

**Kai, if you are going to go running off doing god knows what, please tell me or at the very least leave me a note. Preferably after you finish doing the work that you were supposed to do so I don’t end up having to do it for you at two in the morning when I get home.**

_Irene, sorry. Vale said that it was an emergency. I will let you know next time. Not that you were actually here to talk to._

**Why do you think I told you to leave me a note?**

* * *

_Can you get more milk when you go out today?_

**Can you not finish the milk?**

_I needed it for breakfast_

**I needed it for tea**

_Whoever finishes the milk replaces it?_

**A decent compromise. Go on then, you finished it.**

_I walked right into that one. Didn’t I?_

* * *

  _Winters, I am borrowing Strongrock. He’ll be back later_

* * *

 

_Do you need anything from the shops? I am going later_

**~~Bread~~ **

**~~Milk~~ **

**~~Sugar~~ **

**~~Dark chocolate~~ **

**~~Tea~~ **

**Apples** _They didn’t have any fresh ones._

* * *

_ Strongrock, I am borrowing Winters _

* * *

 

_ I have returned Winters. She’ll be fine. It is just a few scratches.  _

**Kai I am fine. Just going to slep for a wile.**

_ She has a concussion. It is advisable that you wake her when you see this note. _

* * *

 

_I came by earlier, but you were out and I felt weird about letting myself in, which is ridiculous really. But I digress. If you are home soon, before dinner, call on me? I want to take you out. X_

 

**We do keep missing each other, don’t we? Vale said that you would be out all day, so I am leaving this with him, hopefully he shall remember to give it to you and wont lose it. The place was a mess when I came by.**

**Sorry, I spent the night in the Library, a lot of research for a book I am after needs to be done and now I don’t have any one to help.**

**Sorry, that made it sound like I was angry with you for leaving. Or annoyed, or something else negative. I’m not. Just… the house is too quiet when it is just me. I miss having you around all of the time.**

**I will be free tomorrow night if you are.**

**xxx**

* * *

 

_ Winters. Strongrock is fine. He just hit his head three or four times. He assures me he is fine but asked me to let you know that he is alright and not suffering from adverse effects. I do not believe him and you may have better luck in convincing him that he requires medical help. It would be appreciated if you came to my lodgings as soon as you receive this. _

* * *

 

 _What do you need from the shops?_

**A will to live and less paperwork**

_I don’t think I can physically carry that. Chocolate?_

**You are my favourite person now.**

_I wasn’t already?_

**The Fae brought me tea, you have competition :P**

_Did you just draw a smiley face? And really?_

**Stop passing me notes. You are right next to me.**

_Stop replying to my notes. You are right next to me._

**Kai.**

_Irene x_

**Oh don’t you x me**

_Fine. No kisses ever again._

**I didn’t mean it like that!**

* * *

 

**Sorry I have had to leave early, duty calls. I ~~lo~~ will see you later **

**Xxx**

* * *

_Roses are red._

_Violets are blue_

_Sugar is sweet._

_Why aren’t you?_

**Hey Kai, what has black hair and is sleeping on the couch tonight?**

_We have a spare bedroom_

**Fine. Hey Kai, what has black hair and isnt sharing a bed with me tonight?**

_My brother? I hope._

_Irene? Oh come on. It is just a joke. Please respond._

_Please?_

**Do you know CPR?**

_Random. And yes, actually, I do_

**Great, because you seem to have taken my breath away**

_I will gladly sleep on the couch now_

* * *

 

Before you hear otherwise from anyone else, I am fine.

* * *

 

_Sorry I am away for a few days. I’ll see you as soon as I can, I already miss you and I haven’t even left yet, and you are just in the next room._

_Stay safe whilst I am away and I’ll take you out for dinner when I get back. I mean, I’ll do that when I get back anyway, but still._

_I love you_

_xxx_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really loved writing this one, it was just fun. I may write more notes and letters between the characters  
> Please comment ^^


	6. See you again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set immidietely after Irene is shot in the Lost Plot
> 
> Contains: minor angst, blood

Kai heard three things, a roar that made the room shake, a bang that made his ears ring and a body hitting the floor. He turned just in time to watch blood spatter from the hole in Irene’s chest, before she then hit the floor. He was moving before her eyes shut. Torn between killing Hu and rushing to Irene’s side. The decision was made by guards grabbing Hu and dragging him out.

He tore of his jacket, pressing the bundled up fabric to her chest. Everiste was already at her side. “She still has a pulse.” He said, Kai nodded a slight jerk of his head. The smell of blood hung on the air, heavy and metallic, sickening. “Out cold though.” Kai looked back over his shoulder and watched Hu being taken from the throne room in binds. Ya Yu was walking towards them.

Kai pressed down on Irene’s chest, ignoring the way that her blood slicked over his fingers, staining skin and the knees of his trousers as it began to trickle onto the floor in scarlet rivulets that the fabric of her dress failed to soak up. “Irene, you have to wake up.” He said, moving one hand to her suddenly pallid face, her eye lids fluttered, but she didn’t open them. “Irene!”

“My healers are on their way.” Yu said. “Will she hold on?”

“She best do.” Kai said bitterly. Everiste checked her pulse again.

“She’s getting weaker.” He said before leaning down, putting his ear next to her lips. “Barely breathing. I think it hit her lung.” Kai wanted to swear.

“Please Irene.” He murmured. “Wake up.” He could feel her breathing under his hands, he knew that it was getting slower and each breath was getting shallower as the seconds ticked by.

“They can treat her in the Library. She can’t die there.” Everiste said. “If there is a library that I can take her through we can heal her there.”

“She won’t survive us moving her.” Kai said, shaking his head. “She needs to be stabilised first.”

“We can fully heal her there and she will make a full recovery in days.” Ya Yu said, looking up as the doors to the room were thrown open and two men in white robes came running in.

Everiste moved out of the way to allow the healers to take his place, kneeling next to Irene. Kai let them work on her, pulling his hands back. He didn’t stand up though. Everiste and Ya Yu were at his back, but he couldn’t pull his eyes off the woman laying before him. He reached out and curled his long, hot fingers around her small, cold hand. He held her hand tightly in his. “Wake up.”

He watched as they bound her chest, cotton pads and murmured spells slowed the bleeding until it had almost entirely stopped, and then she was carefully shifted onto a stretched, and he was left on the floor, bloodied as she was. He blinked. Everiste offered him a hand to his feet, and he stared at the proffered limb for a moment, before accepting the help.

“She will be treated well young Prince.” Ya Yu said. “She will recover.” Kai swallowed, saliva thick in his mouth and his stomach clenched, nausea overwhelmed him for a moment.

“Thank you, your majesty.” Everiste said, bowing deeply. “The Library will not forget your kindness.” His voice was quiet and rusty, words unsure on his tongue. Kai could see him shaking. Everiste had not been expecting to have to address the dragon queen and fear did not quite describe what he was feeling.

Kai put his fist to his shoulder, and bowed, making his own show of gratitude.

“I cannot thank you enough your majesty.” He said simply. “I truly can never repay this.” 

“Apologise to your father for your behaviour, and I believe that we can call it even.” She said, Kai would have smiled. But Irene’s blood was thick on his skin. It was all that he could feel, soaking through his trousers, drying underneath his fingernails.

“I will.” He said.

“Then you owe me nothing. Follow me.”

The queen turned and walked away, skirts narrowly missing the two pools of blood that never slicked the tiled floor. Kai and Everiste shared a brief look, before they followed after her. “I will send servants to locate your daughter, Librarian Everiste.” She said.

“Thank you, your majesty.”

“And once they return, you can go and get her, before returning to report in to your superiors.” She continued. “You may wait for the Librarian Irene to wake; however your superiors may not agree with you doing so, and your father will realise that you are here Prince, he may come to find out why.” Kai nodded.

“I will return to him, though, I wish to know that Irene will fully recover.” He said.

“Of course. I would imagine that a few hours should be adequate time for her to be healed, she will not awake during that time, but we will know that she will recover by then, and your father shouldn’t worry during that time.”

“I hope not your majesty.” Kai said, knowing full well that his uncle would show more interest in his location than his father would show, or had ever shown.

The corridors were grand and reminded Kai of where he had grown up, whilst Everiste looked around with barely contained awe as they passed wide windows with gorgeous views, the sun slowly setting over far flung fields that were bathed in a rosy glow.

“You can wait in here.” Ya Yu said, arm waving to a small room that had comfortable looking seats as she turned to face them. “You have my gratitude for helping in this situation. Though I ask that this is not discussed again.” Her words turned sharp and her eyes followed.

“We will not.” Everiste stammered. “Though, I must tell my superiors something your majesty.”

“Tell them what you must.” She said, words razor sharp, her power was pressing down on them again. “But no one other than those that you must tell are to know of what has occurred today. Understood?”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“And Prince, I will make sure that you have made your apologies.” She said, turning to Kai, who bowed his head.

“I promise that I will your majesty.” He said. “I will travel there as soon as I know that Irene will be fine.”

“Of course you will.” She said, before leaving them.

Everiste dropped into the first chair. He looked like a man on the edge where he wasn’t sure to laugh, sleep or cry. Kai paced.

“You’re a Prince?” Everiste asked after a few long minutes of silence.

“Yes. I am.” Kai said, casually dismissing the question. “So?”

“You don’t seem like a Prince. I expected more… I don’t know. Like the Queen I suppose. A bit more grandeur.”

“I am young, and my father has many sons older than I am.” Kai said, he shrugged. “I never really thought of having grandeur as you say. Just… I prefer to be myself than what was expected of me.”

“Fair enough.” Everiste said.

“You seemed surprised that I would be royalty.”

“You act like nobility; I was not expecting a literal Prince. Unless that is just a dragon thing?”

“No. My father is a king, Ao Guang of the Eastern Ocean.” Kai said, waving his hand slightly. “I however hold no title other than my birth right as Prince.”

“Right.” Everiste said, unconvinced. “And the Library just let you join?”

“Well, the woman who recruited me didn’t know. Irene said that Coppelia and a few others knew, other than herself. I wasn’t the first apparently, though no dragon has ever taken their vows to become a Librarian. We have all left before, for one reason or another.” He explained, he paused to look out of the window, and then turned neatly on his heel to continue to pace the length of the room again.

“How long have you worked with Irene?”

“You are more talkative now.” Kai remarked. “And nearly two years, give or take a few months I believe.”

“I have a massive weight off my shoulders now. I can’t relax until I have Miranda, but it is still something.” Kai wondered if it was just that, or the added nerves from the whole situation that now left the other man fidgety and more talkative than he had been in the recent hours.

“I suppose.” Kai said, compared to Everiste, his nerves were mounting, anxiety piling atop of existing worries, muddling through his head in a flurry of invasive thoughts that lingered on the very worst outcomes, and the outcome wasn’t looking bright to begin with. He ran a hand through his hair, pulling the tie out, and then rebraiding it, fingers fidgeting.

“She will be alright. You heard what the queen said.”

“She could die.” His voice was so distant to him, like it was on land and he was sinking fast. “You said the bullet hit her lung, it could have done more damage than just that and we just don’t know. Could have hit her heart, or arteries. She could already be dead.” Irene would have told him off for the grammar of that sentence, but she wasn’t there, and Everiste did not seem the type to comment on such a thing, not when the man before him was clearly unravelling.

“You love her. Don’t you?” Kai turned to look at him sharply, opening his mouth to speak, and then closing it again when he realised that he didn’t actually have a retort that he could use.

“I… I don’t know.” He said quietly. “I care for her a lot. She is a good friend.” He wasn’t sure if he was blushing, but his cheeks felt too hot.

“You can love your friends.” Everiste said. “I would say it is normal to love them in fact. She clearly cares for you, and you are more than a little protective of her.” Kai tried to smile but didn’t manage to.

“She gets herself into trouble a lot.” He said. “Someone needs to watch her back. I failed today.”

“Frankly, the only other outcome could have been one of us getting shot.” Everiste said. “From the angle, I would be dead. You probably would have survived, but it could only have made things worse.”

“Are you saying that it is a good thing that Irene has been shot?” Kai felt his anger rising, his skin crawled, and he could feel barely bridled rage struggle to hold back winds of a storm.

“No.” Everiste raised his hands in surrender. “I am saying that there are no good outcomes. But you have to look at this all from the outside. I need to be there for my daughter, selfish as that is, it is true. If you got hurt, the court politics would surely be ferocious and life threatening for a good many people. There was never going to be a good outcome from someone pulling a gun. We are just lucky that he didn’t kill Irene instantly.”

“Irene hates guns.”

“With good reason.” Everiste says. “They do make our jobs considerably harder.”

Kai stopped by the window, it was beginning to rain, and he questioned whether he had started that. The storm that had begun to rise had faded as quickly as it had grown, but clouds still lingered, and raindrops began to streak across the window.

“What will you do when you have your daughter?”

“Take her into the Library, probably be kept there for the next decade for breaking the rules.”

“That isn’t fair.”

“The seniors don’t care. I broke rules, I lied. They won’t see it the same way that we do, they haven’t been here.” Everiste didn’t sound bitter. He had already accepted that he would be punished, and he couldn’t find it in himself to care, he was too tired, and frankly, he would be grateful to be with his daughter somewhere that was safe where no one could hurt them.

“Some rules are meant to be broken. Irene left her station to come and rescue me last year.” Kai said. “I think I would be dead had she not done that.”

“And was she punished?”

“Well, we both were. She was put on probation and we ended up with some truly awful assignments for a while.”

“Exactly. If they don’t punish us for breaking the rules, no one will keep to them, even if it is just for show, we have to accept what we are dealt.”

The sun tried to break through the clouds but was failing to much more than shine a few rays of light onto the fields in golden streaks. Kai ran his fingers across the cold glass, watching as the raindrops followed his touch until he pulled back and they trickled down to the windowsill.  Flicking his eyes up to the clouds, he watched as it continued to rain. He needed to get better at controlling his emotions.

It took two hours before someone came to speak to them, Everiste jumped to his feet.

“Your daughter is at Qing Song’s home.” He said. “If you will follow me, I will take you to get her now.” Everiste looked back to Kai.

“Go. I will wait for Irene.” Kai said. Everiste nodded.

“Thank you, for everything.” Everiste said, and then he left. Kai sighed, and finally sat down, holding his head in his hands.

He was tired to the bone, his head ached, chest felt tight and he was fairly certain that he had a few bruises. But he wasn’t bleeding on the floor. He didn’t have a hole torn through his chest. He wasn’t elsewhere being operated on in the hopes that he would live.

It was another two hours before he was allowed to see Irene.

She looked so frail in the bed, pale as a sheet, sleeping peacefully, but too peacefully and a small part of his mind wandered what she had been drugged with. He had been left alone with her, so he crossed the room to stoop and kiss her forehead.

“I’ll see you soon.” He said. He wasn’t sure if he would. He wasn’t sure if he would ever see her again. He didn’t even know if she would wake up. He could only hope that he would see her again.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that one was really long but I wrote it just after the book came out and just never posted it


	7. Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fire and Ash haunt her dreams, and begin creeping into Irene's waking life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains: panic attack, angst

Irene had never been a morning person. She was the person that had to be dragged out of bed at school, or have water thrown over her on one occasion (a midnight feast the night before had been involved and she had only just got back to sleep before they were being roused for breakfast.) It wasn't that she was lazy, it was that she was of the opinion that mornings were for laying in bed, drinking coffee and reading a good book, not doing anything challenging or strenuous. So when Kai found her sat in the kitchen at six in the morning staring into a cup of tea, he paused.

"Irene? Is something the matter?" She very nearly jumped out of her skin. "Has something happened?" She took a deep breath to soothe her rushing heart.

"I woke up." She said with a shrug, trying to be nonchalant.

"Here I was thinking you made that tea whilst asleep. Is it fresh?" She sipped from the tea cup cradled in her hand and grimaced.

"Nowhere near." She replied after swallowing the tepid tea that had gone bitter from sitting too long. Kai checked the kettle and decided that there was enough water in it.

"When did you wake up?" He asked as he swilled out the tea pot.

"When it started raining." It was still raining, not that surprising for this, or most, London. It was heavy, drumming against the window pains, echoing through the house."

  
"That was hours ago." Kai said. "Couldn't get back to sleep?"

 

"I was cold so I thought I'd light the fire." She said slowly.

  
"Okay." Kai drew the word out in his confusion. "Tell me what is wrong."

"I had a panic attack." She finally admitted when the silence stretched to a length that she could no longer tolerate. "I remember kneeling down to light the fire... And then... I don't want to talk about this." He reached out to touch her shoulder but she jerked away, a sudden and violent reaction.

  
"Are you alright?" Her laugh was sharp and bitter, all dark anger.

  
"I can't light a fire without having a breakdown. I'm just dandy." Kai stayed silent, he wasn't a particular fan of Irene in a bad mood, her sarcasm levelled Vale's only Kai couldn't lose his temper with Irene like he could with Vale. He set the fresh tea down.

"Are you hungry?" Kai asked. "Toast? I think we have eggs in... And... No I think we need to go shopping actually. I think bread, milk and eggs are the only things we have in."

  
"I am not that hungry." Irene said, she didn't trust herself to keep it down if she did eat anything, her stomach was a painfully tight, twisted knot.

"You should try to eat something." Kai frowned, examining her with keen eyes like he'd be able to just see what the issue was. 

"Well I do not want to." She got up, her tea would stay hot for a while longer, and if not, it wasn't as if there was a shortage of teabags. "I'm going to have a shower."

"Irene, if you want to talk about it, I'm here."

"I won't."


	8. That time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Irene is learning more and more about Dragons, even things that Kai would rather she did not know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I admit that this one is just weird, and silly and I dont care. Beware euphemisms and all around awkwardness
> 
> Contains: sexual references, mating cycles, innuendos

Kai wouldn’t stop fidgeting and it was beginning to grate on Irene’s nerves. When he popped the cap off his pen for the nineteenth time it was enough, and she was just about ready to lose her temper. “Kai, for god sake with you stop fidgeting, you are getting on my nerves.” He looked up.

“Sorry.” He said. Irene sighed and shut her book, slipping marker in between the pages.

“Is something wrong?” She asked. He was somewhat flushed, and his pupils were blown wide like he had taken some unknown substance, though he had been with her all day and she would have noticed. “You look like you are coming down with something. Are you alright?” Kai clenched his fists, and then nodded. “Are you sure?”

“I am fine.” He said. Irene arched an eyebrow. “Really Irene, I am fine.”

“If you are fine, can you stop being fidgety so that I can focus?” He managed five minutes before starting up again and she gave up with any hopes of concentrating. “Okay Kai. What is up? Tell me now.”

“I cant.” He whined. “I wouldn’t be able to explain it if I wanted to.”  Irene sighed.

“Is there something wrong?” She asked. “If you are in trouble, I might be able to help you but only if you tell me what it is.” He swallowed and then shook his head.

“I cant explain.” He said. “No one is in danger. I am not ill. I just, can’t explain this. I’ll be fine tomorrow.” Irene frowned. He had seemed odd the day before, distractible and jumpy but this was worse. “I’ll go upstairs, I wont be able to annoy you up there.”

“Kai, you can talk to me about anything you know.” She said softly. “I am not going to judge you or be angry if you have done something.”

“Irene, there is no way to explain this to a human and for it to make sense. “He said.

“So this is a Dragon thing then.” She exhaled. “I may not understand, but you can still talk to me if you need someone.” She got up and put her book away on her pile of books that she was reading. “I am here for you.” Kai exhaled.

“I can’t explain it, even if I wanted to.” He said. “It… “

“Is a Dragon thing, do you not have the words for it?” She asked. Kai had to think.

“I think I have the right words. It is just isn’t the kind of thing that we talk about it. It is quite a private thing.” He said. “It is… biological. I am not ill though. It should go away tomorrow. I hope. Believe me, it is getting on my nerves too. Sorry about that. I am trying to control it.” Irene frowned. He was flushed, and tense, with wide pupils, shifting in his seat every few minutes like he was uncomfortable.

“Kai.” She said slowly. “I apologise if I am completely incorrect here, and I cannot believe that I am about to ask this. But… do Dragons have a mating cycle?” Kai swallowed. And nodded. “And that is what this is?” Another nod. “Right.” She wasn’t really sure where to go from there, it wasn’t something that she could offer help with. Well, no, she could. She just didn’t want to.

“It should have stopped by tomorrow.” He attempted to assure her. “I’ll be back to normal. And it isn’t a regular thing like the female cycle.”

“Human female or Dragon female?” She asked curiously.

“Human. Dragon is the same. Kind of problematic if you don’t sync- sorry, you probably don’t want to know about this.” Irene was struggling to not laugh at _this._ “It is more of an annual thing, less of a monthly thing.” He said.

“Cant you just…” She swallowed. “Take care of it yourself?” Kai blinked.

“It doesn’t work that way.” He said, shaking his head. “Or well it does. It just doesn’t… last.” His tone was strangled and awkward and his eyes darted to the door. He really did not want to be sat there, discussing this. Especially when she was so close to him and she smelt so good and she looked so beautiful with the muted light streaming through the window and falling on her like she was some kind of ethereal creature, divine and perfect. He was getting distracted, not to mention some of the _other_ reactions to her presence that he was working hard to supress.

“Is there nothing else that can help?” She asked. Kai shook his head.

“Nothing that I am willing to do.” He said. Irene frowned. “That sounded bad. May I be completely frank and then we pretend that this conversation never happened and forget all about it and never mention it again?”

“Unless you say something particularly alarming, I will never mention it again.” Irene said.

“The only way to make it easier is to… well, breed.” He said simply. “Or at the very least, try to. It doesn’t go away if I ignore it or just, as you put it, take care of it myself. It is a biological reaction that is there to increase population. Unless I do something that could do that, it doesn’t fade for a while. And, well, I don’t particularly want to go out and find a random person to sleep with in order to get rid of this urge.” He was blushing. Or was still flushed. Either way, he was pink cheeked.

“Right.”

“And I hate doing that.” Kai said. “I’ll just suffer. It is only for a bit longer.” She nodded.

“Is this the first time that you have gone through this?” She asked curiously, trying to gather as much information as she could before he clammed up or absconded from the whole conversation.

“How young do you think I am? No. It starts at puberty. I have had to deal with it for a while. Not a problem whilst I was in a relationship, a massive problem when I wasn’t, when I am not.” He swallowed. “Apparently it gets easier as you get older but…” He shrugged.

“You aren’t that old?” Irene had no idea how old Kai was, he looked to be in his early twenties, occasionally displayed the angsty and whiney attitude of a teenager and behaved to be much older than he actually was. And she didn’t know much about the lifespan of Dragons, it was very long, but she didn’t know much after that.

“No.” He shook his head. “Do you have any other questions, or can we pretend that this conversation never happened?”

“I don’t think so.” Kai was up like a shot, and out of the room.

“Good!” He called back over his shoulder before she heard him heading up the stairs and into his bedroom.

* * *

 

It was not for a bit longer, and two days later and a particularly icy cold shower for the fourth day in a row, Kai was still uncomfortable and his mind still wandering toward the explicit if he lost focus. He avoided Irene because as much as he loved her company, her presence was making it worse. He was craving her more and more each day.

“Alright. Is this because I made you talk to me about what was going on the other day?” Irene finally said, cornering him in the kitchen. He swallowed; she was so close.

“No it isn’t.” He said quietly. “Please don’t ask me about this though Irene.” She crossed her arms across her chest, and he forced himself to look over the top of her head, her bodice was cut so perfectly to her figure and despite the fact that she looked good in it, he wished it was on his bedroom floor. She sighed and stepped backward.

“Do you not trust me?” She asked. “Have I overstepped a boundary?”

“I trust you, and no, you haven’t.” He swallowed again, he could smell her shampoo and perfume.

“You said it would go away in a day.” She said.

“I honestly thought it would.” He spread his hands and exhaled. “Irene. There are things that can elongate it,” poor choice in wording and Irene was clearly thinking the same thing. “Make it last longer.” She looked like she was about to laugh. “I am glad you are finding this so funny.”

“Sorry. Sorry.” She schooled her expression. “I will be completely serious.”

“There are things that can make this whole debacle go on for longer than usual. And to make it harder.” Irene bit her tongue.  “Okay, you can laugh at that one, I walked into it.” She pressed her hand to her mouth and nose as she snorted. He smirked. He’d be laughing if it had been anyone else and as it was, he loved her laugh.

“Okay. I am good.” She said. “Sorry Kai. But there’s only so long I can stand there whilst you slip three innuendos into a conversation and keep a straight face. So, there are things that make it harder to deal with, and the symptoms last for a longer time.”

“Exactly.” Kai said.

“If you know what they are can you deal with it?”

“No I cant.” He said, glancing down, and then back up over her head again. “It isn’t a thing. It’s… well… You Irene. You, uh, smell really good?” It sounded so weird when he said it out loud, weirder than it had sounded in his head. “And you look so good and I am trying really hard to hold this all back because I don’t want to make things awkward between us because you said that you weren’t interested in me.”

“Right.” Irene wasn’t really sure what there was for her to say, what there was to say. “I smell good? Can you smell my pheromones or something?”

“Kind of, yes?  Also your shampoo and perfume. It heightens my senses.”

“I don’t wear perfume.” Irene said.

“Then yes, it is your pheromones then. Sorry.” He sounded embarrassed.

“Would it help you to know that I will be away for couple of days and you can stay here?” She asked, Kai tried to not let the relief show on his face.

“Yes. It will help.” He said. “Is everything alright?”

“I need to have a routine check up and then Coppelia has a quick job for me, but it is a high stakes mission and I don’t want to bring you along until I can go over the full specs of such an assignment with you rather than just throwing you in the deep end.” She explained. “I’ll only be three days. Try not to burn the house down?”

“I will try.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually loved writing this one because it is just so silly.  
> I am doing campnanowrimo next month so updates may be lacking as I want to work on original content


	9. Read to me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains: fluff, hurt comfort, anxiety

 

 

"Irene. Stop." Kai said quietly, interrupting her mid spiel about reorganising the study. She ignored him and started up again. Kai sighed and crossed the room. Her touched her wrist, making her stop and look at him. "You need to sit down, and you need to rest." She looked exhausted, dark bruises under her eyes and he wanted to sigh, and embrace her, and tell her that she would be fine.

"I-" She swallowed and shook her head. She brushed him off. "I want to get everything tidied up and organised. We'll be kept busy probably for a few weeks at the very least. I don't want to come back to a mess. Especially if I'm on assignments without you." The office wasn’t that messy, and he certainly was the neater of the pair. She just needed something to keep herself busy, and her hands full.

"You haven't stopped since we got back." He said. "I haven't seen you eat, and I know that you haven't been sleeping. Irene, you cannot keep going like this, something has to give, and I don't want it to be you. Vale, can you leave us alone for a few minutes?"

"I should be heading home anyway." He said, reaching for his coat. "Call on me if you need anything."

"Irene, we can do all of this once you've rested and eaten. You'll pass out." Kai said once Vale had left. “Let’s have dinner, and then I will help you finish tidying everything up. Until then, get some rest.”

"I can't stop." She whispered. "if I stop then the thoughts come back, and I can't stop them. If my hands are empty, they shake.”

"You'll make yourself sick and that will be worse." He said. "Just sit down for an hour, read a book and I'll make dinner, I went shopping earlier and I know what you like to eat.”

"I’m not hungry." Irene said, shaking her head. Kai sighed.

"You have to eat." Kai said firmly, "if not for your sake, for mine."

"I would have thought you to be above emotional manipulation." She complained. “And I should let you know that I certainly hate.”

"You are ignoring logic; I was hoping it would sway you." Kai said with a shrug. "If nothing but to put my mind at ease, eat and rest, I will be unable to relax until you do."

"That's cruel." Irene muttered.

"I'll stop being cruel if you let me make you dinner and then go and sleep for a couple of hours, I'll stay up in case you have a nightmare."

He spent half an hour making them stew whilst Irene made a decent dent in the tidying before he called up the stairs to get her attention. He pulled her chair out for her and she gave him a faint smile and sat down. He pushed a bowl towards her. Irene's stomach was empty, and it felt a touch queer to eat but she did anyway, Kai glared at her when she simply started pushing the food round, it reminded her of her mother chastising her for playing with her food.

"I really couldn't eat any more of it." She said. "really Kai. It was good though, thank you." she'd eaten a little over half of it and a bread roll. Kai frowned but eventually nodded reluctantly. He cleared the table and she ran the sink to wash up.

"You know, I think I have some bath salts in my room." He said thoughtfully. "They're good for sore muscles."

"That they are." Irene said, only half listening, hands in the hot and soapy water, it felt pleasant on her skin, she felt almost numb to everything but the heat of the water.

"And I can't exactly use them since that would really irritate the wounds. Good antiseptic but not worth the pain really." Kai continued as he grabbed a washcloth to clean the table down. Irene hummed in response. "Irene, I'm offering to go and run you a nice bath." He said, subtlety was not getting through to her.

"Oh." She blinked. "Thank you, that would be quite nice." She managed a tiny, tired smile.

"What am I going to do with you?" Kai sighed, he smiled back, warm and brighter than her own.

"Well from the sounds of it, drown me." He touched her shoulder.

"Like I could do anything that would hurt you." He said softly. "I'll be back in a minute."

Irene set the last dish on the rack to dry and drained the sink. She leant heavily on the countertop. Maybe Kai was on to something. She felt drained and dizzy. A little nauseated to but that was to be expected if she skipped several meals and then ate. Her fingers bit into the polished marble of the counter tip (Kai had been quite excited about that bit whilst they'd been looking for homes) it was blessedly cold.

She swayed and her knee buckled.

"I've got you." Kai caught her, crossing the room in a second and catching her before she could hit the ground. He propped her up, bracing her with an arm around her waist. "Irene?" She dropped her head back against his chest and exhaled.

"I felt dizzy." She muttered. "It'll pass."

"Maybe leaving you unaccompanied with a large body of water will be a bad idea." He said. "You'll manage to drown yourself if left alone in this state." He guided her to a seat and sat her down before kneeling in front of her and pressing fingers to her throat to find her pulse and then her forehead. "You are freezing. Probably from not eating and not resting. You'll make yourself ill soon."

"I just went dizzy for a second. I'll be fine." Her voice was faint to her and buzzed in her ears.

"You will be once you rest." He said, straightening up. "Don't lock the bathroom door, in case you go dizzy again. I don't want to have to break down the door to save you."

"I don't want you coming in the bathroom whilst I'm bathing. Death, injury or otherwise." Despite that, she still left the door unlocked and cracked open and inch. She stripped off, leaving her clothes in a pile before she stepped into the bath. She hissed and stepped out again and turned the cold tap back on. Kai must prefer hot baths and showers. She wrapped a towel around herself and leant against the wall, eyes half shut. She could smell the salts in the water and once it was a better temperature, she sunk into the water.

Kai was right, it felt heavenly on her bruises as she sunk into the water and leant her head back. She exhaled slowly, listening to the lapping of the water before dunking her head until the water.

"You drown yet?" Kai asked, tapping on the bathroom door as to not push it open. Irene twitched the shower curtain closed just to be careful. She was black and blue with bruises, something Kai didn’t need to know, not to mention stark naked. She cleared the water dripping into her eyes.

"Not yet." She replied. "I am not trying too hard though." She reached over to the small shelf  by the bathtub and sighed. "Could you possibly fetch me a glass of water?"

"Uh-"

"Not an invitation. You touch the shower curtain I see how long it takes to skin you." She said tiredly, she wouldn't actually hurt him, and Kai knew that, it was more of a joke these days. And she doubted he'd look anyway. He was an incorrigible flirt and could put silver to shame with his persistence, but when she said no, he'd back off. He was respectful. She liked that about him.

His feelings for her surpassed physical, hers for him did too. But they couldn't. Maybe... Maybe once he was a librarian there could be something between them. But she doubted that he would take his final vows and librarians were always kept busy, rarely the time to form a lasting relationship, she had no idea how her parents managed it. But she was getting ahead of herself. That would be years in the future if it happened at all. Friendship would have to do.

She dunked her head under the water again, wishing that the water was cold for a second so that the iciness could chase away any lingering thoughts of the flesh. She swept sodden hair out of her face as she surfaced again.

"Okay, that sounds like you're trying to drown yourself." Kai said as he sat the glass within reach of her and didn't touch the shower curtain.

"I do need to wash my hair somehow." She could taste salt on her lips and washed it away with a mouthful from the water he had fetched her. "Thank you." Kai looked away when he heard the curtain move, just in case.

"Need anything else? A book? Glass of wine?”

"I don't want to drop a book in the bath. So unless you're offering to read to me, no thank you." She heard the door and his footsteps away, and then back again.

"What do you fancy? I'm halfway through War and Peace, or there was Bleak House on the desk. Your next read?"

"I was being sarcastic." Irene said.

"Well I'm not. Bleak House? I don't think I've ever actually read it." He said, sitting down on the floor. "I know it has a detective in it. And I know you like detectives." Irene flushed.

"I kissed Vale." Kai paused.

"What? When?"

"The other night. When you were asleep." She put her hand to her face, and it muffled the words. "He kissed me back and then told me to get out, and that it wouldn't happen again."

"Oh." He said quietly. "Are you alright?"

"I feel like an idiot." She admitted. "I should never have kissed him. But I thought he felt the same way. He kissed me back. But... He treated me like I was a child and didn't know what I was talking about or doing when I do, I did."

"Do you want me to hit him for you?" She laughed. "I'm serious. Kind of. I don't want to hit him, but I will if you want me to. "

"I don't want you to hit him." Irene shook her head even though he couldn't see her. "I want to pretend that it didn't happen, I just needed to get that off my chest and tell someone."

"I’ll listen whenever you need someone to talk to." He said. "And hit people you want me to hit." She laughed and dropped her hand, splashing water. "Are you playing in the water? Should I go and find you a rubber ducky or something?"

"If I wasn't naked right now, I'd smack you."  She muttered. "No toys please. But I believe I was promised a story." That made both of them laugh before Kai complied and picked the book up. He sat crossed legged on the bathroom floor, occasionally shifting when his muscles cramped, and read to her until the water grew cold and she had to get out of the bath, shooing him out of the room beforehand. She dressed in warm night gown and wrapped a fluffy dressing robe around herself, wet hair sticking to her face.

"Vale doesn't know what he's missing." Kai said with a smirk as she padded out of the bathroom, a mildly damp mess. She glared at him.

"I am letting you off this one time." Irene said. "Consider it your warning." She exhaled, dropped her head and closed the last few feet between them and slipped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his shoulder. A second later, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her hair. "Thank you." He was warm and held her tightly. For the first time in a long time, Irene felt genuinely safe.

"You should get some sleep." Kai said, but he did not release her. "Do you want me to sit up with you in case you have a bad dream?" She had been plagued with nightmares to the point where they became expected and were just another part of sleeping. She’d woken him screaming once before, she hadn’t slept for over twenty-four hours after that.

"Please." She whispered against his shirt, not wanting to admit how much she wanted him there, and how much she needed his comfort.

"Alright." He released her. "Let me get changed and... Actually, there's an armchair in my room. I'll sit up and read whilst you get some rest. You can sleep through anything, I'm sure my lamp won't wake you."

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this one, I got to write the angst I love and also fluffy softeness


	10. Well worth it

"You're going to get sick." Kai said, crossing the room to help Irene struggle out of her heavy coat, sodden with rain. He hung it up as she unwound her scarf and unpinned her hat, before he took those too. "You must be freezing." She was soaked to the bone, almost dripping, her hair certainly was.

 

"I'll be fine." Though she didn't protest as he made her move closer to the file. "You said that there was a note?"

  
"You should dry off first." Vale said, not looking up from his work. "Theres a nightdress in my wardrobe you can take, and a warm shower will probably be a good idea." Between Vale in protective mode and Kai, who never left his protective mode, she just shrugged and did as he suggested. The housekeeper took her clothes and said shed put them by the fire in the kitchen to dry them out, before she padded into the study again in bare feet.

  
"Alright, dryer and warm now." She took a seat in the armchair nearest the table. "The note?" Her hair, now short, was curling round her ears as it dried. Vale passed it over and she scanned it. "Shipment arriving at nine twenty five. L H D. Usual place." She said, translating it aloud. "L H D? Limehouse?"

  
"I believe so." Vale said. "There isn't a date?"

"No, just the time." She said, giving it back. "The paper is odd."

"Odd how?" He asked. "Cheap paper, easy to find."

"Print press quality." She said. "The type used for cheap books, maybe the type used to print penny dreadfuls since they don't need to be high quality." She said. "It isn't the kind of paper easily available unless you work in that industry, or know someone who does."

"What can you tell me about the ink?" He asked, it had bled a little, like spider webs in black lines. She took it back and sniffed it.

"India ink I would say judging by the smell." She said. "Cheap, easy to get. Insoluble in water. The paper would dissolve though so I doubt it was chosen for that reason. Not used in print houses though. Not with the way it bleeds on cheap paper."

"Thank you." Vale slid the note into a file and stood up. "I need to get to Limehouse, its already eight."

"Do you need company?" Kai asked.

"No, I shall contact Singh on my way." He said. "Enjoy your evening." He said to both of them.

"So." Kai said slowly once Vale had left the house. "How was work?" Irene nearly laughed.

"Lonely." She admitted after a moment. "I didn't think I'd feel lonely to be honest. I worked alone for so long, and I never wanted a student. But now, the house is too empty. I'm thinking of moving actually. But it's only been two weeks, so maybe I will get used to it." He nodded. "I expect to find you there when I get in, waiting to tell me about whatever you have read today, or what fresh hell you and Vale have caused for the police and half a dozen criminals." He laughed. "I don't know if I want to get used to it though. I miss having you around." He smiled, bitter-sweet meloncholia.

"I miss being around you too." He said, reaching out to cup her cheek. He sighed. "You are still freezing. I'm going to make us some tea." He brushed a kiss to her lips and Irene hoped she didn't blush. She wasn't sure what it was about him but she always blushed. He ran his thumb across her cheek and gave her a warm smile and damn it she was blushing. "I will be right back." She moved to sit on the couch once he was gone, so that he could sit next to her when he returned with tea. And he did so, leaning forward to pour them cups of steaming hot tea before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to his side and Irene let him, curling up against his side and leaning her head on his shoulder.

Kai radiated warmth, she could feel it seeping through her to tingle across her skin and fade away again. He was looking at her, she could drown in those deep blue eyes of his and she wouldn't even care if she did so, though she had no doubt that he'd always save her. She forced herself to look away and pick up her tea, and promptly scalded her tongue. "Careful, it's hot." He snickered.

"I know. Its fresh tea Irene." He said. His arm went around her shoulders again, and the other on her hip, pulling her closer and he kissed her cheek. "Whatever shall I do with you?" He asked, she could feel his breath, warm against her skin, and tickling her. There was the temptation to turn to him and to kiss him, sink into a deep kiss and get carried away.

But the relationship was new and she didn't want to rush into things. She didn't want to potentially ruin anything. "Kai." She pulled away and turned to sit with her back to the sofas arm, looking at him. "I need to be completely honest with you. I am... Bad with relationships. I've never had one that lasted long, and they almost always ended badly. I don't want that to happen between us. I really like you and I don't want to ruin that."

"Irene, you aren't going to ruin what is between us. And I really like you too, even if saying that makes me feel like I'm sixteen and in school again." She smiled and he took her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles, lined with silver scars. "And you're talking to the man who's last relationship died because I skipped town. And that world. So I think the being bad at relationships thing is mutual."

"So what do we do?" She asked.

"I think we do what all adults should do in relationships. Talk to each other." He said with a shrug. "If there's something we are unhappy about, we sit down and discuss it."

"Kai, I'm trained to lie. It's what I've done my entire life. You don't even know my real name and I don't intend on ever telling you what it is."

"That's fine." He said. "Irene, I know that your job is important to you and that it will have an effect, but I want to try and make this work between us." He had laced his fingers with hers and he turned her hand over to kiss her palm. "I want to make this relationship work, I really like you Irene."  She smiled. "You're worth the work." She laughed, leaning forward and her hair fell over her eyes. He swept it out of her face and ran his fingers along her jaw. "Well worth it." He kissed her, a soft brush of his lips against hers. Irene smiled against his mouth, before parting her lips against his, sliding into a deep kiss and letting herself drown in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this at like midnight because there is nothing I love more than being a raging insomniac


	11. Learning things the hard way

Irene woke with a dry mouth and a throbbing pain behind her eyes. She groaned and dragged her covers up over her head, burying back into her bed. She felt sick and everything hurt. She wasn’t entirely sure how she had actually got into her bed, the last thing that she could remember was her and Kai getting about halfway through a bottle of whiskey.

That had been a bad idea. But from the feel of her head, they’d probably got to the bottom of the bottle. She groaned again, wishing that she could fall asleep again. She was fairly certain that she wouldn’t be sick, but she couldn’t entirely rule that out. The room was spinning, so she shut her eyes.

Kai knocked on her door. “Irene? Are you alright? You are normally up by now.” She peered out of the covers and squinted at the clock on her bedside table, it was half past nine. She sat up, and the room went sideward. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a shallow breath. “Irene.” She pressed her knuckles to her lips, swallowing bile. Of course he was already up and wanted her attention.

“Yeah.” She muttered. “Give me a minute.” Her voice was thick with sleep. She heard him chuckle and immediately hated him and wanted to be back asleep. That wasn’t fair. She didn’t hate him. She hated hangovers and the fact that he wanted to talk to her.

“Are you hungover?” She heard him say. She grabbed a pillow and tossed it at the door. It hit with a thump and then hit the ground. He chuckled again. “I am taking that as a yes. Would you like some tea and toast?” She glowered at the door as she shoved her feet into slippers and flicked the bedside lamp on, she wasn’t entirely sure she could handle the main light just yet.

“Please.” She said. “I need a shower and to get dressed.” She squinted through the dull light of the bedside light. The heavy curtains blocked out any light that could come in off the street, not that there was often much light out, it was usually gloomy and foggy.

“Take your time.” He said. “I’ll see if I can find your stash of painkillers.” His voice was so bright and chipper it made her a little bit angry. She sighed and forced herself to relax, she was just hungover and the world just seemed like it hated her, it didn’t actually hate her. She was sure of that.

“Top desk drawer.” She replied. “At the back.” She wasn’t meant to have the drugs from other alternates in her home, but that was yet to stop her, or really any of the other Librarians out there, they were useful and if she could keep them hidden then there wasn’t really any harm in her having them for when she inevitably got a migraine from work and Kai. Or when Kai needed them, he never got ill but he did occasionally complain of headaches, and he did have a tendency of whining about them.

She dragged herself off the bed and wrapped herself up in her dressing robe before finding herself clothes to put on once she’d showered. She did feel more human and a bit better once she’d spent ten minutes in the shower and washed her face with cold water. Kai grinned at her when she finally made her way into the kitchen, she’d left off stockings, they were just annoying when you’d just got out of the shower, and her toes curled at the coldness of the floor, she had forgotten her slippers on her bedroom floor.

“You are my least favourite person right now.” She muttered. “How are you fine?”

“I am younger than you.” She arched a brow and he stuttered. “Not that I am calling you old, but I am younger than you and hangovers do get worse as you get older and well… it isn’t a good idea to try and out drink a dragon. You just end up having to be carried up to bed at two in the morning when you fall asleep on the couch.” Irene groaned and dropped her head; Kai slid her a teacup and two pills on the saucer.

“Probably.” She muttered. “How much did we drink?”

“We finished off the whiskey.” He said. “You are a very chatty drunk you know, kept arguing that you weren’t drunk, and you were just a bit tired. Which, I suppose you were since you fell asleep on my shoulder. Did you know that you one, snore a little bit, not loudly but you definitely do.” She nodded. “And two, you talk in your sleep.”

“I do?” She asked, tossing the pills back and chasing them with tea. “I don’t often sleep around other people so I have never had any one tell me. And I know I snore, I broke my nose years ago. What did I say in my sleep?”

“I haven’t a clue, it wasn’t in English for the most part.” He said. “Maybe German? It certainly sounded Germanic. There were a few words in English, but I couldn’t really understand.” She nodded and added some sugar to her tea.

“I didn’t say anything particularly embarrassing, did I? When we were talking, not in my sleep.” She asked nervously, Kai was grinning, and she wasn’t sure if it was because he was enjoying her situation or if she’d made a spectacular fool of herself, bearing in mind that she’d fallen asleep and he’d had to carry her up to bed, it was probably more the former than the latter.

“I don’t know what you consider to be embarrassing.” Kai said after a moment. “You just… talked. We both did, about all sorts of different things. Old jobs, family, school. You tried to get me to talk about Venice. Your feelings for Vale.” Irene blushed red.

“I-” She stuttered.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to him.” Kai said, sliding her a plate of toast. “You should though, he’d be lucky to have you, and he’s a good man for you.”

“Let us pretend that last night never happened.” Irene muttered.

“I don’t know. I managed to get you to dance with me. No music and you’d had nearly half a bottle of whiskey to drink at the time, but you were good at it.” He was smiling. “First fun and good time we’ve had in weeks with everything since… Venice.” She nodded. “It was nice to just talk, even if you don’t remember.”

“I remember some of it.” She said. “Up until… I think we were talking about different variations of drinking games. Which, I am guessing, is why things went downhill and I can’t remember the rest.” Kai had to laugh.

“That was at about one this morning.” He said. “I did try to tell you that you shouldn’t challenge a Dragon to a drinking game, but you were adamant that you could do it.” He shook his head. “Don’t try it again, you need a functioning liver, and out of curiosity, are all Librarians functioning alcoholics?”

“I am not an alcoholic.” Irene countered. Her toast was going cold, but she didn’t have much of an appetite.

“Uh-huh.” Kai said. “Eat.” She picked up a piece of toast and nibbled on the corner of it. “All of it Irene. You will feel better.”

“I feel like I will be sick if I do.” She replied. “Do we have any ginger in? I may make some ginger tea.”

“We do.” He said. “And it is better to throw up something than water. You will start feeling better faster if you eat.”

“Have you ever had a hangover?” She asked curiously. “Because you seem to be suffering from no adverse effects right now, which, to be honest, is highly irritating, though I do have a tendency of being petty.”

“I have a bit of a headache.” He shrugged. “I have had hangovers before. But this isn’t bad. I have had much stronger than what we were drinking last night, and I know that you skipped dinner yesterday, which is probably why you feel awful right now.” He stood up. “Eat. And try not to choke on your own vomit whilst I am in the shower.”

“That is disgusting.” She said, wrinkling her nose, she took another bite of her toast, though she had every intention of tossing it as soon as he was out of the room.

“Then don’t do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for readin <3


	12. 'Rene an' Kai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set between The Burning Page and The Lost Plot, Irene and Kai encounter a mischevious Fae having fun with magic

“Why did you send for me?” Vale asked. “This is not my usual kind of case, and to be honest, I don’t think I could care. They probably just got lost.”

“Yes, that was what we were thinking at first.” Singh replied. “Until I realised that I recognised the children.”

“Who are they?”

“Uh, well, I think it best that you see what has happened, and what is going on. It certainly would be easier than me having to explain it.” Vale sighed. “I don’t quite understand it either. We found them on Charing Cross road, no parents, they both said that they didn’t know where their parents were.”

“Fine. Show me.” He relented. Singh led him into a small office room, where a pair of young children, maybe three or four, sat on the floor. They looked up when he came in. “What is…” He frowned. “Irene? Kai?” The girl who was undoubtedly Irene, she had the same bright and sharp eyes, waved at him with a chubby hand that she had been chewing on. The boy, blue eyes, bluish hair, was taller than she was and pulled her protectively close.

“They don’t seem to remember anything at all.” Singh said. “But they cannot stay here. And I thought that you may be able to come up with a solution, or at the very least an answer.”

“You want me to look after them?” Vale spluttered. “They are children! I cannot look after children.”

“You know them the best.” Singh said. “And it is either that, or they will be sent to a children’s home. There is only so much that I can get away with, and this is pushing it a bit far. And if they end up back at their original ages in the middle of an orphanage, things may be a little… hard to explain.”

“Fine.” Vale huffed. “Fine. I will take them with me. I have no idea how to look after them though. I am not the kind of person usually trusted with children.”

“Think of it as an observational study.” Singh suggested. “We know that someone did this to them as their clothes fit them. So we will hopefully be able to find out how this happened, my current theory is Fae magic.” Vale nodded, still staring. Kai had tucked Irene under his arm and the young boy seemed to be very protective of Irene, even in the child form.

“Alright.” He said. “I’ll take them to my home. Hopefully this will not last long.” Singh nodded and left. “Kai? Irene? We are going to go home now. Get up, time to go.” Irene nearly fell over when she stood up, he caught her before she fell, picked her up and sat her on his hip. Kai grabbed his hand, he didn’t want to ask why it was wet, he’d been chewing on his fingers like Irene had.

They were well behaved on the trip back. Irene was quiet but Kai was very chatty, asking inane questions about almost anything that he saw and that piqued his fancy. “How does cab work?” He asked and Vale explained it. “Why?”

“Why what?” He asked with a frown.

“Why does it do that?”

“Because that is how it works.” He said. “The coal makes steam which makes the wheel turn, which makes the cab go.” Kai nodded.

“Why ith it called cab?” He blinked.

“That I do not know.” He replied. “I can look it up for you when we get back.”

“Cabriolet.” Irene muttered through fingers again in her mouth. Vale wondered if she had chewed her nails when she younger and had since got out the habit of doing so and had reverted back to the habit now that she was a child again.

“It comes from the word cabriolet?” He asked, she nodded. “There you go Kai; it is called a cab because it comes from the word cabriolet.” Kai grinned and hugged Irene tightly. She squeaked. “Careful you don’t hurt her.” He lightly chastised and he released her.

Maybe it wouldn’t be too hard.

Getting them inside wasn’t too hard either. Irene held her arms up to be picked up again, which he did so, and carried her up the stairs, as soon as she was on the floor again, she made a bee-line for the bookcase, Kai followed her.

“Why do you have children?” His housekeeper asked.

“Well, it is related to a case and now… I am stuck keeping an eye on them. Irene do not try and climb that bookcase.” She looked at him with wide eyes and he very nearly relented out of pity.

“Do you even have books for children?” His housekeeper asked.

“Any book is a children’s book if a child is reading it.” He replied. “I may have a book of fairy tales around here somewhere.” She nodded.

“Call if you require anything.” She said and left. He turned back to the children, Irene was now using a small footstool that he had left laying around to try and reach a higher up shelf. Kai could actually reach the book she wanted and grabbed it before she could. Upon seeing this, she burst into tears, sitting down on the stool, and crying loudly.  

“Irene. Irene.” He tried to sound soothing. “Shush, stop crying. It’s just a book. Come on, you don’t need to cry over a book. Come on, I have plenty of books that you can read other than the one that Kai has.”

“Bu-bu- want that one.” She sobbed. “I want thaaaat one.” He knelt in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. “I want wead it.”

“I know you do, maybe you can wait until Kai has finished reading it?” He said with a smile. “Why don’t you pick something else out to read?” He was regretting saying yes so fast. Kids were certainly not his forte, he ha no idea what he what he was doing. Irene was near hysterics over a book and Kai looked to be on the verge of breaking down too. “Irene. Come on, it is just a book.”

“I got it for you.” Kai said, there was a wobble in his voice. “Becauthe you’re thmall.” Vale pulled out his handkerchief and dried off Irene’s face. “I’m thorry.” A few tears dripped down his cheeks. Vale sat him next to Irene on the footstool.  He dried off Kai’s face before he could start bawling like Irene.

“How about you both read it together?” He said once they were all cleaned up. All evidence suggested that they had no memory of their lives as adults, so they seemed to have formed a quick but strong connection. However, it was also possible that only some of their memory had been affected by whatever it was that made them switch. “You can read, right?” Irene seemed like the kind of person who was taught to read young.

“Um. Yes?” Irene’s voice still shook but she nodded and put her fingers in her mouth again, biting her nails. “Some.”

“Okay.” Vale said slowly. “Why don’t you two try and read through that book whilst I do some work?” She sniffled and nodded. “Share, I need to work.” Kai had wrapped his arm around her again and he rested the book on their legs and opened it to the first page.

Reading was a nice way of putting it. It took them ten to fifteen minutes to get through the first page, though he supposed that they were children and that they would take a while to get through pages. Irene was doing better than Kai was though. And they had managed to find the one book that he owned with pictures, or at least the only book that was child-friendly with pictures.

“Irene.” He said once they got to the end of the fifth page an hour or so later, she twisted in her seat to look at him. “Do you remember who I am?” She nodded. “And do you remember who Kai is?” She nodded. “Who are we?”

“Fends.” She said. Both children showed signs of a speech impediment with Irene seemingly unable to make R sounds and Kai having a lisp.

“Do you remember what happened this morning?” She shook her head, putting her fingers in her mouth and biting her nails. “You shouldn’t bite your nails like that, you will make your fingers bleed.” She reluctantly dragged her hand away from her mouth and clenched her hands into little, chubby fists. “Kai, do you remember who we are?”

“Friendth.” He said with a nod. “Love ‘Rene.” Vale nearly smiled at that bit, he wasn’t entirely sure if adult Irene would appreciate the sentiment coming from her student, whilst he had witnessed Kai’s attempt to flirt with Irene, he had also witnessed Irene shutting him down multiple times, or just ignoring him until he gave up. Irene giggled and hugged him.

“Do you remember what happened this morning?”

“No.” He said, pouting. Vale sighed, jotting down his notes on their answers and on their behaviour. Whilst a little advanced, they acted like children. It was hard to tell if the advancement was due to residual memories of adulthood, or if there was something in the upraising that had occurred when they were that age that had helped their education early on.

The housekeeper brought them up lunch and Vale cleared off some of his desk and made Irene and Kai sit up to the table. Both of them were too short to reach the floor, swinging their legs under the chair, toes nowhere near the carpet. He didn’t trust them to not make a mess if they sat on the couch to eat.

In the three hours that they had been in his study, Irene had managed to chew her nails down, almost to the bed and with a sigh and another attempt to convince her to stop biting on them, he is cleaning up a few bleeding cuts in the cuticle.

Kai yawned and leant his head on Irene’s shoulder. “Tired.” He complained.

“Why don’t you two go and sleep in the spare room?” He asked. “You can have a nap and I will come and wake you up.” The pair nodded. Irene fell off her chair and ended up face down in the carpet, crying again. His head was starting to hurt.

He picked her up with ease, like she was a ragdoll, whilst she wailed and put her hand to her head. He sat her on his hip and carried her into the bathroom, sitting her on the countertop to clean her up again, he couldn’t remember where he had put down his handkerchief. Her eyes were puffy and red as she sniffed. “Did that hurt?” He asked. She coughed and nodded. “Where?” She pointed to her forehead. She had a small patch of carpet burn on her forehead and he rinsed a washcloth off and pressed it to her forehead. “Is that better?” She nodded.

“Daddy kithes better.” Kai said quietly, he was stood in the doorway. Vale looked at him, and then at Irene. He sighed before kissing her forehead. “Now all better.” He had a bright, innocent smile.

“Better.” Irene said, her eyes were watering but she was smiling now.

“Let’s put you two to bed.” Vale said. He needed a nap as much as they did. Irene cried at almost everything from the looks of it. Kai climbed up onto the bed in the spare room, burrowing underneath the covers. He carried Irene through to the room and set her on the edge of the bed. “I will come and wake you up in two hours. I need you to be quiet, alright? Go to sleep.” They both looked tired, so he wasn’t surprised when they curled up, Kai cuddling Irene again, he was an affectionate child, and they both shut their eyes.

He was distracted from his work an hour later when a scream jarred the silence and made him drop his pen in sudden shock. He threw up the bedroom door. Irene and Kai, both now adults again, were sat in the bed, staring at each other with wide, shocked eyes, Irene looked like she was about to stab someone whilst Kai looked very confused. They turned to him as he came in, clutching the covers to their bodies.

The fact that they had been in children’s clothes and were now no longer child sized, meaning that the clothes had torn and that they were now naked, was not helping the situation.

“What the hell is going on?” Irene demanded. “Where are my clothes and how the hell did, I get here?” 

“I second all of that.” Kai said. “Last thing I remember was looking in a bookshop, and we were certainly dressed then.”

“When was that?” Vale asked.

“I don’t know. Nine in the morning. It is still Thursday, right?” Vale nodded. “Okay, so that was this morning. We were looking for books on Charing crossroad.” Irene said. “Now, could you explain how we got here, and where are our clothes because I am very close to losing it.”

“Let me get you something to wear.” Vale said. “And then I will try and explain what happened, though I am not certain on all of the details.”

#

“We were children?” Kai asked once Vale got to the end of the story, Vale had lent him some of his clothes to wear whilst Irene was stuck in the nightdress until someone went to pick her up something to wear. Vale nodded. “That doesn’t just… happen.” They all had cups of tea and Irene was sat in the armchair, hands curled around her cup, Vale at the table, Kai on the couch. Irene still couldn’t look Kai in the eye. “Do you have any suspects?”

“As of yet, no. Singh said that you were found wandering down Charing Cross road. You were taken to the station. He asked me to keep an eye on you, and to see if I could hypothesise the cause, and a solution. Though whatever it was, seemed to have worn off.” He explained. “You said you were in looking in bookshops, so clearly you didn’t manage to get far. Though I suppose four year olds aren’t the fastest.”

“How long were we children for?”

“Four or five hours.” Vale said. “Not overly long. Though I do have a few questions that I am curious about. May I?” They both nodded. “Winters, did you bite your nails as a child?”

“I did.” She said, her fingers were by her lip and she dragged them away. “Let me guess, I started biting my nails again, I certainly want to do it again now and I haven’t for years.” He nodded.

“To the point where you made your fingers bleed, you seemed to dislike being told to not do it. Does your forehead hurt?” Vale asked, making notes, scribbling in his messy handwriting, it was fine, no one else would be reading them.

“A little, yes.” She said. “My forehead.” She touched the point that hurt. “Did someone hit me?”

“No you fell off a chair and went face first into the floor, got carpet burn and cried.” He said. She blushed and looked into her cup. “You also started crying because Strongrock got a book off the shelves, the book that you were trying to reach. So naturally you became hysterical.” She opened her mouth, and then shut it again. Kai looked as if he was trying not to laugh. “At which point he also started crying because he was getting it for you, and he was upset that he had accidentally upset you.” Kai stuttered what may have been apology.

“Strongrock, do you have any younger siblings?”

“A half sister a few years younger than I am.” He said. “I didn’t get to see her too often growing up though, why?”

“You were highly protective of Winters in your child state, either hugging her or holding her hand nearly the entire time.” Vale explained. “Would you say that was how you treated your sister?” Kai shook his head.

“No I was an awful brother and liked to play tricks on her whenever I had the opportunity.” He said. “I wasn’t that close to her, or protective of her to be honest.”

“Perhaps that was a result of residual memories then.” Vale said. “You certainly are protective of Winters most days.” He chose to miss off the bit about Kai declaring that he loved Irene, it probably wouldn’t help. “You also told me that kissing her forehead would make it better.” Kai laughed.

“My father did that when I was younger.” Kai said. “I was always getting hurt whilst getting myself into trouble.” Irene laughed. “Oh you are telling me that your parents never did that, either of you?”

“I was punished for getting into trouble.” Vale admitted. “My father preferred that over affection.”

“Oh.” Kai looked at the ground.

“And my parents thought that it was a ridiculous notion.” Irene said. “So mother would do it when my father wasn’t paying attention.” Vale sighed; they were getting sidetracked. “Strongrock, you had a lisp. Was that the same when you were a child?”

“You said that you suspected I was around four, yes?” Vale nodded. “I lost my front tooth at around that age and lisped until my adult teeth came through, it was probably because of that. I don’t remember lisping at any other time.

“I don’t see any signs of you two suffering adverse effects of what has happened, other than some minor memory loss, and the fact that you spent several hours as the child versions of yourself, which didn’t seem to do any damage, but I cannot say for definite at this point as there is no data.” Vale said. “Though it has made it clear to me that I am correct in never wanting to have children of my own.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this, and of all the things my degree came in handy I did not expect it to be a fanfic about characters getting de-aged. I loved giving them cute lil' speech impediments.  
> I am thinking of writing a follow up to this with Vale being the one to get de-aged and Irene and Kai having to look after him, let me know if you would want to read something like that  
> Thank you for reading, love y'all


	13. Pewegwine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vale learns the hard way not to touch a Fae's things

Irene hurried down the stairs, hastily tying up her dressing gown and tripping over the pair of shoes that Kai had asked her to stop leaving at the foot of the stairs as she rushed to answer whoever was pounding at the door. Kai was also emerging from his bedroom, looking annoyingly handsome for their rude awakening, his chest bare, she was just glad pyjama trousers were involved as he pulled on a silk dressing robe and followed her at a much more leisurely pace, pausing halfway down the stairs as she unlocked the door and slid back the two deadbolts she had installed herself, she called it a healthy paranoia and knack for DIY, he called it unhealthy paranoia and a knack for DIY, she had managed to put together all of their bookcases single handedly after all.

"Yes?" She demanded, finally throwing open the door. No one stood there.

"Irene..." She looked down, a young boy of three sat on the door stop, looking up at her with rich, hazel eyes. His sharp features were recognisable anywhere. "Again?"

"Well, at least it isn't us this time?" She knelt down to eye level. "Vale?"

"Obviously." He said, it lacked adult Vale's normal sneer. "Pewe- pewegwi-" He seemed to be getting frustrated with his inability to pronounce his own name. 

"Peregrine." She said softly and he gave a sharp nod. "Do you know how I am?"

"Winters." He frowned, pressing his lips into a thin line. She nodded. "He's Stwongwock." He said, pointed at Kai who was now sat on the bottom step and staring dumbfounded at the child Vale.

"Correct." She said. "Come inside, it is cold outside." She shut the door behind him but didn't bother with the bolts. " _ Again? Seriously _ ." She hissed to Kai in Chinese. " _ How old do you think he is?" _ Kai shrugged.

"Peregrine, how old are you?" He asked.

"Four." The four year old replied, again like it was obvious and even answering the question was beneath him. "Obviously."

"Alright obviously four Peregrine." Irene said, already tired and debating throwing her hands up in the air, throwing back a glass of brandy, and going back to bed to pray that this was all just a nightmare. "Why are you here?" He shrugged and she had to bite into her lip. Kai chuckled.

"Why don't we go upstairs?" He got up and offered him his hand. Vale stated at it before heading up the stairs unaided, Kai looked at Irene. " _ Is it just me or is he an absolute brat?" _ He asked in Chinese.

" _ He is." _ She agreed. " _ At least he isn't crying. And there's one of him but two of us." _ He chuckled. " _ Safety in numbers. Don't let me smack him. I have no qualms with smacking him when he's taller than me. I have qualms with smacking a child." _

_ "Would you actually?" _

_ "Smack him as an adult? I'm shocked it hasn't yet. Believe me, I've been tempted at several moments. As a child? No. I have no idea how to look after children and its hard to think of him as a child when I expect him to start discussing cases with that adorable little lisp and I swear to god if you repeat that to anyone... " _

" _ You will skin me alive, I know. Go and get dressed. I'll supervise." _ He said, his smile disarming enough to nearly make her relax. " _ And you may want to tell the police. I'll watch him." _

_ "Are you sure?" _

_ "I have neices and nephews." _ Kai shrugged. " _ And siblings. I'm actually pretty good with children. Trust me. I've got this." _ She sighed and nodded. He grinned and bounded up the stairs like he'd somehow managed to drink a few espresso shots without her noticing the smell of it. She would have noticed if he did, he always ended up with a smear of it on his lips that he always missed. She followed much more slowly and went into her room to find out clothes before showering off.

She knocked on the sitting room door and pushed it open. Vale was sat on the arm chair, legs nowhere near the ground, he really must have had a growth spurt as a teenager because he was really short at four. Kai had given him a Chinese puzzle cube that she'd often seen him fiddling with when he was stressed and the boy seemed determined to open it, brow pinched. Kai looked up and smiled at her. Vale looked up for a second, eyes drawn to the sounds she made, and then he looked down again, absorbed in his task. 

"Is everything alright?" She asked Kai. 

"Fine. I just need to get dressed, and maybe a lot of coffee." He said standing up. "I think you do too." She arched a brow. "It's early, you always have coffee. I'm not saying that you look bad. I swear Irene."

"He means you look tired." Vale piped up. "You do."

"Thanks." Irene said dryly. "Make some once you're dressed?" Kai nodded and left. Irene sat at her desk as the door clicked shut. She had work that she needed to do, a list of books to check through, bookshops she had to visit and try and find those books in. She reached for a pen and got to work, Vale seemed happy to sit and fidget with the box, Irene wondered if there actually was anything in there. She kept glancing up, but he was still sat there. She should probably be asking him questions but she wasn't sure what she should be asking, she couldn't exactly remember what it had been like when she'd turned into a child and then back again. She could remember going into the back room of a bookstore, and then waking up next to Kai, naked. That had been very awkward and it had taken a few days before she could look him in the eye again.

Kai slid her a cup of coffee when he came back in, fully dressed now, hair gleaming with dew droplets from the shower. He sat opposite her, reclining casually, glancing at Vale and then back to her. "At least he doesn't cry at everything?" 

"Cwying for babies." Vale informed them. "Not a baby." 

"Is there anything in that box?" She asked Kai. 

"A biscuit." Kai said. 

"Biscuit?" Vale said. He pushed himself off the seat, and walked over, holding the box up to Kai. "Open please?" Kai laughed. 

"No, if you want the biscuit you have to open it yourself." Kai said, shaking his head. "It's a reward for if you manage to solve the puzzle and open the box." 

"But... Biscuit." He said. 

"But it will taste better if you manage to solve it." Kai said, Irene smiled. He reached over and ruffled Vale's hair. "I will help you if you need it though." Vale pouted. 

"I want biscuit." He said, voice full of determination. He sat down again, starting to fully examine the box, rather than just fiddling with it. Irene had to put her hand to her mouth to not laugh at the boy. 

"So, we were children for around five hours I believe." Kai said. "We have no idea how he got here so let's call it three and a half hours left to be on the safe side." She nodded. "At which point I have clothes he can borrow until he gets his own again." 

"And we can just... Lock him in one of our rooms so we don't have to deal with him turning back." Kai laughed. "It was awkward enough last time. Let's not make it any worse." He nodded. "I'll go and let Singh know that it happened again, I shouldn't be long." She looked at Vale. "At least he's quiet." 

He was still quiet when he came back, though this time he was sat on Kai's lap as Kai read to him from what sounded like a fairytale book, she decided that it was his as she had no memory of storing such a tome on their lodgings. Kai looked up and paused, grinning as she came in with tea tray in hand.

"Do you like tea?" She asked Vale, setting it on the coffee table and sitting opposite, perching on the edge of her favourite.

"No." He shook his head. "Nasty."

"Do you like milk?" He nodded and she poured some into a cup for him before she poured her and Kai their drinks. "Please try not to drop it."

"It happened one time." Kai muttered and the corners of her lips twitched, very nearly smiling. Vale snickered before picking up the cup, carefully holding it in two hands.

* * *

 

At the three hour mark, Vale's eyes were heavy with sleep and he kept yawning, he didn't protest when Irene pushed him off into Kai's room with instructions to go to bed and have a nap, pinning a note explaining what had happened and a pile of clothes for him to wear. And they left him there, and finally managed to start on work that they were meant to be doing. Or they would have done, but instead they were busy discussing what had happened, and laughing about it.

"I know I should be worried." Irene said, she'd curled up on her armchair. "This is twice now. But good heavens, Vale's simultaneously the worst child ever and incredibly easy to entertain."

"I still can't get over him asking me for that biscuit." Kai said, smiling. "Honestly Irene, he was adorable, you have to admit that."

"I do not." Though she did agree. "He was rude."

"He's four, four year olds aren't lovely people. That's a toddler. He's allowed to not have the best manners." Kai said. "And he's no worse than any of my neices and nephews. Perhaps even a little better since he didn't spill milk everywhere, even if he was a bit whiny about wanting a biscuit." She laughed, breaking off when the door creaked open and Vale, now dressed in Kai's clothes stood there.

"Winters. Stwo- Strongrock." He said, looking at them. "I take it that I got turned into a child?" They nodded. "And I take it this will never be discussed again?"

"I don't know." Kai said. "Some teasing may be necessary." Vale glared at him.

"What do you recall?" Irene asked before Kai could start poking fun and an argument could begin. Vale huffed and sat down.

"The police arrested a Fae last night, he was a bookseller on Shaftesbury avenue, not too far from the bookshops on Charing Cross Road in fact." He said. "I was looking through his records. He had written an entry for a book with the label 'For the library.' I found it out, and next thing I know, I was here."

"He must have enchanted it with Fae magic." Kai said. "I have heard of similar things, only people got turned into chickens, not children."

"That is quite the typo." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading <3
> 
> Also, I'm thinking of changing my username. Thoughts?


	14. Man child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Kai517-teenwriter on tumblr   
> In which Irene is irritable and Vale is childish

“You’re seriously like a man-child.” Vale just stared at Irene before looking to Kai who was wearily rubbing his forehead and he wondered if she was in a particularly bad mood that day.

“What on earth is a man-child?” He asked.

“It’s when an adult male acts like a child who can’t look after themselves.” She replied. “Which…” Her voice trailed off as she looked around his study. “Is pretty obvious. Must you be so childish? Sulking because you are wrong?”

“But I’m not wrong.” Vale protested, already formulating the perfect argument.

“Vale, I have been arguing for your side all afternoon, she isn’t having any of this.” Kai said tiredly as he sat down. “Just give up and say I told you so later on.”

“Kai!” Irene turned to her student with a face of pure exasperation. “You agreed to this plan. Yesterday. Remember? We sat and talked for a good four hours whilst we came up with it.”

“Oh I still think it’s a bad plan but it’s better than the other ones.” Kai said with a shrug. Irene sighed and it was her turn to rub her forehead. “You are both right and both wrong. Irene this is a stupid plan, Melancourt has threatened you thrice now and your plan is to simply buy the book in front of him and walk off with it, granted that’s better than stealing it, but he will certainly try something. Vale, just because you know that he will try something does not give you the right to attempt to forbid Irene from doing her job simply because you think she is an idiot. ”

“She is an idiot.”

“An idiot who is going to hit you so hard one of these days.” Irene muttered under her breath.

“Excuse me?”

“You are excused.” She replied and it was finally Vale’s turn to exhale. “I’m only telling you the plan as a courtesy. I won’t bother next time.”

“Just be out by midnight if you don’t want to get arrested.” Vale said finally. “And don’t get yourselves killed.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take all sorts of prompts if anyone wants to send my way  
> Thank you for reading <3


	15. qin ài

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set pretty much as soon as a the mortal word ends

 

Kai had never seen her cry. She had gone through great effort to hide her emotions from him as much as she possibly could. But as soon as Vale had shut the door behind himself, she was in his arms, hoarsely crying into his shoulder. Kai stumbled before catching her in his arms and running his fingers through her hair.

"It's alright." He said softly, soothingly. "I've got you Irene. I've got you."

"I'm sorry." She hiccuped, she couldn't stop herself as she grabbed a fistful of his shirt. 

"You need to stop apologising. I don't blame you." He kept running his fingers through her hair, he had no idea if it was actually helping her to relax but he liked doing it. 

"Your shirt is wet." She said, words muffled by him. 

"Well okay, I have to blame you for that." He held her at arms length and Irene sniffed, trying to stop the tears streaming down her face. "It's alright Irene. I've got you. I'm not going anywhere. I promise." He kissed her forehead. "They'd have to drag me away from you kicking and screaming." She laughed but it was weak and strained.

Kai cupped her face, running his thumb over her cheek before brushing his lips across hers. "It's alright." He said. "Irene, it's going to be alright." He sat her on the edge of the bed and Irene hiccuped and sniffed, trying to smear away her tears with the cuff of her dress. Kai sighed and used his handkerchief to dry her eyes. He put his arm around her and Irene lay her head on his shoulder." You need rest. You must be exhausted right now."

"You should too." She said, grasping the cuff of his shirt. "Please don't leave." He smiled and touched her cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere." He said.

He held her whilst she slept and woke her when she started to dream. She tucked herself close to his body, both wrapped up to ward off the cold. She traced patterns on his skin with cold and shaking fingers.

"How do you feel?" She asked, brushing fingers over bruises along his abdomen.

"Sore. But I'll live." He said. "You should get some more sleep."

"I don't want to." She said quietly. "I don't want to dream anymore." She tilted her head back and kissed him. Kai cupped her face and sunk into the kiss, pulling her to his chest. She deepened the kiss, slipping free arm around him, she was laying on the other one and it wasn't very comfortable. Kai groaned when he felt her tongue brush his lips, before breaking the kiss.

"As much as I would really like to continue this, you are hurt, you should be resting not... Kissing people." He was reluctant to shift away from her in the bed but he did so anyway. He wished to kiss her hard and only stop when breathing became a necessity. A repeat of the night before would have been bliss. But he was fairly certain that a doctor would put sex on the list of things that Irene shouldn't be doing until she could breath without running the risk of coughing up blood. He sighed and ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep. I need to shower and then I'll see about food and going home." He sat up and Irene grabbed the front of his shirt. "I'm just going to be in the bathroom."

"I'm scared." She confessed. Kai sighed and kissed her forehead.

"I know. I'll protect you." His voice was soft and gentle. He carefully pulled her hands off his shit and kissed her scarred knuckles. "I'll be five, maybe ten minutes at most. I'm just in the bathroom. I'll lock the room door first, the windows are already locked. You're safe. I promise." He released her hands and stood up. Irene pulled her legs close to her chest, and Kai took a look at her, before dragging the duvet around her shoulders and kissing her forehead again. He locked the doors and watched as she got up to make sure that the windows were indeed locked tight, before she pulled the curtains shut.

"Ten minutes." He promised her again before locking the bathroom shut, she returned to the bed, pulling the duvet up around her. She was freezing cold. He took six minutes and he smiled at her as he emerged, hair now dripping wet, chest bare as he crossed to his bag to find a clean shirt, lucky for some she thought bitterly. "Are you hungry?" He asked, she shook her head. "Have you eaten since I brought you dinner?"

"I had breakfast." It had only been a piece of toast and cup of coffee because she had been busied and distracted but she counted it as a meal. Kai just looked disappointed in her. "I couldn't eat Kai. Even if I was-" She paused to cough, she tasted blood but thankfully didn't cough any up. "Even if I was hungry." He sighed and cupped her face.

"You need to eat qin ài." He knelt down to look in her eyes, pure affection and softness in his voice. "You need to eat, you will heal faster, and you haven't eaten in a while anyway. Just something small."

"No one has ever called me that before." She said. He leant up to kiss her forehead.

"I'll call you it everyday if I can." He said. "My beloved." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> qin ài means beloved or my love in mandarin  
> Thanks for readin<3


	16. Monthly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by an anon over on tumblr

"Since when did you sleep in the middle of the day?" Vale asked, looking down at Irene. She was laying on the couch in hers and Kai's study, eyes closed with a cold cloth on her forehead.

"I'll give you a guess." She muttered.

"Well clearly you have a headache." He sniped. "However you have complained of those before and have never taken to laying around in the middle of the day." She opened her eyes to glare at him and regretted it, he'd turned the lights on. How irritating.

"Can I help you or has god sent you to punish me for my various crimes?" She muttered, shutting her eyes again. "Bearing in mind that I have a headache and I'm clearly not in a good mood."

"Strongrock said he had a book for me to borrow." He said.

"I did." Oh great, Kai was here too. "We have some post Irene. And here it is Vale." She heard the sound of paper on the desk before the pair of men dissappeared, talking in low voices, the front door opened and shut again and there was silence.

"You look awful." She had spoken too soon.

"If I merely look awful then I look better than I feel." She replied. "Do you need something?"

"I should be asking you that." Kai said. "Shouldn't you go to bed?"

"When I sit up I feel sick." Irene replied. She was one hundred percent unwilling to explain that she was in fact suffering from a particularly rough round of menstrual cramps. He was her friend, but that was probably pushing it too far in her opinion. "I don't particularly fancy throwing up, I don't know about you, but I don't think that's erh fun."

"Just because you're in a bad mood does not mean that you get to be so sarcastic." He gently touched her cheek and she jerked away at the sudden touch, sudden because she had her eyes clothes, the touch itself was soft and feather light. "Stop moving." He touched her cheek, and then the side of her throat. "You don't seem to have a fever."

"I don't. The cloth is for the headache."

"Have you taken painkillers?"

"Yes, they're either doing nothing or taking their time working." She complained bitterly. She'd taken them over an hour ago in the hopes that they would grant her the peace to at least get some work done, alas she was not so lucky. Kai hummed before stepping back.

"I'm going to make us some tea, I will be right back." She heard him head into his bedroom first and frowned, before she heard him go down and into the kitchen. When he returned five minutes later he held out a hot water bottle to her. "Here, this should help with the cramps." She tentatively took it.

"How did you know?" She asked, holding it to her stomach, feeling the warmth radiate through her clothes. "I don't have one of these. I really should get one."

"I hate being cold so I usually have one in my room." Kai said, she managed a smile. "And you aren't the first woman I've been friends with. I've even had girlfriends before. Sit up a bit so you can drink some tea. And besides, your diary is open on the desk, Vale would never dare ask such a thing, but I can work out what a little red dot in the corner means. With your symptoms, it was obvious." He grabbed the cushion off the armchair so that she could lean against it.

"Thank you." She said quietly. "Sorry about all of this. Normally it's not so bad."

"Stress?"

"Probably." She shrugged. She took a sip of the tea, he'd already added the perfect amount of milk and sugar. He knew her far too well. "Hopefully it's not a continuous thing to deal with." She wrapped her arm around her middle, pressing the water bottle against herself. "This is really helping, thank you."

"It's no problem." He said, giving her a charming smile that she was powerless to not return, albeit less bright and beautiful. "Oh, I thought this may help too." He pulled a bar of chocolate out of his pocket, snapped off a few squares and tossed them onto her lap, taking a few pieces for himself and putting the rest on the desk. "It's salted dark chocolate, pretty good if you're craving something but don't really have a sweet tooth." Irene eagerly broke off a small piece to eat. It melted on her tongue, heavenly rich.

"That's so good Kai. Thank you."

"Anytime Irene, anytime."


	17. A good morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another request over on tumblr from kai517-teenwriter

Irene, Kai thought, could be found in one of two places on their university campus when she was not in a lecture. The first of these places being tucked away somewhere in the massive library, probably with her headphones in, ignoring the world and working on her latest essay or her dissertation. Or she could be found in the cafe, attempting to drown herself in coffee. She was, annoyingly, not answering her phone to be able to tell him, but since it was easiest to search the cafe, he started there, heading to the library when he couldn't find her there. When he couldn't find her in the library, he wearily rubbed his forehead and headed outside.

He didn't need to see her urgently, what he had to talk about was less a time is off the essence thing and more of a Kai will lose his nerve thing.

He headed back to the cafe, she'd either turn up and they could talk, or he could drink enough espresso that he didn't sleep that night.

She was ahead of his and he rolled his eyes. The rules of the universe were strange and cruel and really annoying. He tapped on her shoulder and she jumped before pulling her headphones out and turning to face him.  
"You scared me." She pointed out.

"I hadn't realised." He said. "I've been looking for you."

"You have? Sorry, roommate was freaking out about exams and held me up. What's up?" She shoved her headphones into her pocket. Her hair was messily tied into a bun, half falling out, still managing to look good. There were scribbles of pen in blue and black ink on her hand.

"Do you want to come over tonight and watch a film?" He asked. "To destress. You've been working like crazy all week and I thought you could do with a night off."

"Your usual idea of a night off involves large quantities of alcohol." Irene was no stranger to the student habits of binge drinking but she was nowhere near to Kai's ability to drink into the early hours and still manage to make it home.

"But yours isn't." He said, shrugging.

"Will the people in your flat be there too?"  
"I think they're all busy tonight." He said.

"Alright. Sure. I'll grab some popcorn on my way over, what are we watching?"

"I'm thinking as much star wars as we can before falling asleep." Irene smiled.

"That sounds good."

#

Kai remember the crying ewok and nothing past that. Irene remembered nothing that even happened on Endor, she just knew that she work up to the light coming through around the edge of the curtains, and that she was in Kai's bed, his arms were around her, holding her tightly and his breathing was deep and regular, he was still asleep.

"Kai." She whispered his name, she wasn't sure how early it was. His eyes flickered open and he frowned, looking at the film menu still on the TV and then down at Irene.

"Irene?" He carefully released her and inched away from her in the bed. "Sorry, you fell asleep on me and then I must have fallen asleep too." Irene smiled.

"I'm not surprised." She sat up and stretched, her spine popping. Kai groaned.

"Oh it's cold now." He complained. "Please come back."

"I should get some work done." She grabbed her phone, it was half eight in the morning, surprising when she remembered checking the time at two.

"Lay in a little longer. I'm cold." He was wining and she smiled.

"What do I get out of it?"

"I'll keep you company and bring you coffee." He said, "Just an hour more, you need more sleep anyway." Irene slowly lay down again and he slipped his arm around her and pulled her close. He couldn't work out if this seemed like a good time to tell her or if it would get him slapped.

"Kai?" She sounded nervous and he flicked his eyes open.

"Yes?"

"Last night... Was that a date or am I just reading into it too much?"

"That depends on if you wanted it to be a date or not." He replied, probably not the answer she was expecting but the best he could come up with without coffee.

"Well, I do." She said decisively. "I would like it if last night was a date. And if we could do it again sometime."

"I'd like that too. I was trying to think of a good way of asking you out, but to be honest, with you in my bed did not seem like the best of times." Kai confessed. Irene smiled before she ran her fingers along his jaw and kissed him, a light brush of her lips against his that left him aching for another.

"At least it makes it easier for that." She said quietly, blushing a little. Kai's lips felt dry but he ignored that as he pulled her close and sunk into a kiss three years in the making, Irene was the more than happy to kiss him back, ignoring the fact that the star wars music was still playing in the background.


	18. Storges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Storges. Greek word (στοργή) storgē, or familial love refers to natural or instinctual affection, such as the love between siblings.

She put her hand to her nose, tasting her own blood as it dripped. Great. She pulled her handkerchief out to try and blot blood away but there was a lot of it and the square of white fabric became sodden and was most definitely ruined now. She pinched the bridge of her nose. She hadn't even trying to do anything particularly hard. 

She was getting dizzy and put her hand on the desk to support herself before she could sway and fall over. She left a bloodied print on polished wood. Vale would be annoyed if she got blood all over his work. She staggered over to the door, she could easily clean up any blood she got on the bathroom. 

The door swung open. Vale stared at her. She stared back, blood dripping down her fingers. "Christ Winters." He said, before grabbing her arm and steering her toward the bathroom. "What did you do?" He carefully released her arm, watching her to see if she was about to fall down. He took a step backward when he was confident that she wasn't about to fall. 

"I just wanted to see if I could turn the lights on." She croaked. "I got blood on your desk. Sorry." He sighed and grabbed her a damp wash cloth. 

"It's fine." He said, his voice lost its harsh edge as she leant against the wall and took a deep breath. "Does it hurt?" If one didn't know the man, it would be easy to presume that he was treating her like a patient, brusque and businesslike, to her it was more. She knew him, knew that the tone would be different if he was only asking out of politeness. It wasn't quite soft, but it was caring nonetheless. 

"My head does a little bit." She said, nodding. They had come to the conclusion that Irene had completely burnt herself out in Paris, pushed herself too far and had suffered the consequences when the Language had turned on her as much as she had turned it on the city. "Is Kai not with you?" She thought that it was over protectiveness for Kai had asked her to not be alone until they knew that she had recovered fully, even if that meant sitting around in Vale's study because the housekeeper was usually downstairs. He'd probably been on to something. Probably. She couldn't exactly wait in the library to be healed after all. It had been six weeks. 

"We were following up on seperate leads. He'll be back soon." He told her, he was speaking to her in that low and soft voice that he used to speak with victims and witnesses who were in shock. It was highly irritating and she glared at him. It was probably a habit but at this point, so we're the nosebleeds. "I thought you weren't going to try and use the Language." Maybe it wasn't the voice that he'd use for victims. She had no siblings and had never met any of his, but she'd hazard a guess at it being the same way he'd spoken to them when they were younger, before whatever had happened happened. 

"I don't like waiting around to see if I will be able to again." She said, pulling the cloth away, the bleed had slowed but it was still dribbling. She rinsed the cloth off with cold water, ignoring the trickle over her lips until the water was nearly clear. She wrung it out and blotted the blood away. "The lights did turn on. So I've got that going for me." 

"And now you're bleeding quite a bit." He replied. "I don't think it's worth it." He sighed and watched as she scrubbed blood off her hands and out from underneath fingernails. "I'll go and clean the desk." 

"I'll do it." 

"Winters, you look like you're about to fall down. Clean yourself up and then sit down. I'll deal with the mess. And have some tea brought up." He added as a second thought. "You need to stop pushing yourself so much. Strongrock will not be pleased when he sees you." 

"He won't be." She said. "But he will have to deal with that himself." Vale snorted. 

"That he shall." Vale said. "The day you listen to logic I may just die of shock." Irene cleaned the cloth off. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Though I do agree with you. You won't know if you don't try. What is the easiest thing that you can do with the Language normally?" 

"Turn on the lights." She said bitterly. "But I can't do that without a nosebleed."

"Was it like that when you first learnt the Language?" She shook her head, checking that she had got the blood out of the cloth. "Have you ever burnt yourself out in this manner before?"

"No. Nosebleeds, feeling faint, one time I just couldn't use it at all. But it's never lasted this long." She said. 

"At least you can speak again." 

"Much to your chagrin." 

"I don't know. Sometimes you come out with something interesting."

"Sometimes?"

"On the odd occasion." He gave her a smile, one of his rare, genuine smiles, bright and warm. "You will get there Irene. You are surprisingly strong. It's one of the reasons why I'm glad to have you around."

"The other being?" She asked curiously, wringing out the cloth and setting it down. He was watching her closely again, to make sure that she didn't fall as she followed him out of the bathroom. 

"Excellent taste in literature."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading ^^  
> I'm going to try and keep to an upload schedule.  
> This fic will be updated on Wednesday and Saturday  
> Life outside the Library will be updated on Sunday, that may change though depending on how many chapters ahead I have written


	19. All I've ever known

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A songfic based off All I've Ever Known from Hadestown and the inherent loneliness that comes from being a semi immortal in an infinitely large library

_I was alone so long_

_I didn’t even know that I was lonely_

_Out in the cold so long_

_I didn’t even know that I was cold_

_Turned my collar to the wind_

_This is how it’s always been_

Being a Librarian was often lonely work. Working alone out in the worlds with no one at your back, no one to rely on, no one to turn to when you were hurting and when you needed someone to be there.

It could be just as lonely in the long, empty halls of the Library, stretching out for miles ahead of you. Silence ringing in the ears of those who stood too long and listened.

One could always steel themselves against the loneliness, become numb to it, cold to everything else and accept it as it was. The road of a Librarian was often a lonely one and Irene knew that as well as anyone else.

It was how it’s always been, she told herself. Loneliness set in until you closed yourself off to the hope of someone else, let yourself grow cold.

_All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own_

_All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own_

_But now I wanna hold you, too_

She leant to protect herself. Do whatever it was that she needed to complete the assignment, to get the book and make it home again.

But it wasn’t always enough for her, to come home to her books and gathering dust.

 

_You take me in your arms_

_And suddenly there’s sunlight all around me_

_Everything bright and warm_

_And shining like it never did before_

_And for a moment I forget_

_Just how dark and cold it gets_

It was pouring with rain and she was bitterly cold, but the lights were blazing in the study windows. She hastily let herself in, nearly dropping her keys, her hands grew wet and slippery. She let the door shut with a bang and tossed her keys onto the side table.

She pulled her gloves off, yanking on them when the wet and unwieldy fabric resisted. She groaned.

“Here. Let me.” Kai’s voice was soft, and she looked up as he hurried down the stairs. “You are soaked. The fire is burning upstairs.” Her fingers were cold as they fumbled with the buttons before he was helping her out of the coat and hanging it up for her as she removed her hat.

He unwound her scarf and hung that up to. The rain had made it through her coat and her dress was dripping and sticking to her skin. He sighed, but was smiling down at her, warm and happy and bright.

“I’ll make some tea for us, why don’t you go and shower? You will catch a cold if you aren’t careful.” The lights were bright, and the house was warm, even through her dripping dress, she could feel the warmth radiating from him, from where he stood a foot before her. “It is getting really nasty out there, you made it back just in time.” It was nice to have someone to come home to, someone to smile and greet her, make her tea and care.

 

_All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own_

_All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own_

_But now I wanna hold you_

_Now I wanna hold you_

_Hold you close_

_I don’t ever wanna have to let you go_

 

All she had known from when she was young until she had met Kai was to always look after herself, because she couldn’t guarantee that there was someone who was going to do it for her.

And now there was.

Now there was a man downstairs, making her a cup of tea, who pushed her off to a hot shower because he was worried that she was going to get sick. Who had a burning fire because he knew that she would be cold, and who was waiting to make sure that she was okay.

Her heart clenched. She loved him. She just wasn’t ready to admit that, to him or to herself. She wanted to wake up to him in the morning. Come home to him waiting for her.

She wanted to be able to embrace him without fighting the urge to kiss him. The need even. A burning want to be more than just his friend.

But she couldn’t be. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

 

_Now I wanna hold you, hold you tight_

_I don’t wanna go back to the lonely life_

 

She got out of the shower and dressed in her nightdress, wrapping a thick robe around herself, and shoving her hair into a messy braid, she padded down to the study in bare feet, she had slippers somewhere, but she wasn’t sure where.

The fire was crackling loudly, filling the room with the sound of popping and snapping, she could smell the burning wood. It was making her sleepy. It was so relaxing; she could sit on the couch and sink into a deep sleep.

Kai had poured her a cup of tea and he got up to meet her at the doorway with it, pressing it into her hand. She was already too used to this and she knew that it couldn’t last. She didn’t want it to end though.

She didn’t want to be alone with just her books anymore. They didn’t fill her life the way that they had done before him. He had filled a gap in her life that she didn’t know that she even had until… there he was.

 

_Say that you’ll hold me forever_

_Say that the wind won’t change on us_

_Say that we’ll stay with each other_

_And it’ll always be like this_

“Irene? Is there something wrong?” Kai asked, startling her from her frankly melancholic reverie. She sighed before leaning forward to set her tea down. “Did something happen whilst you were out?”

“No.” She said, shaking her head, feeling a bead of water slide down the side of her throat. “It’s just… If I say something, will you promise to not laugh at me?”

“I promise.” Kai said with a frown.

“Can I have a hug?” She asked in a quiet, almost timid voice. It wasn’t often that someone hugged Irene, nor was it common that she hugged anyone. She didn’t often want one. But tonight she felt like she needed one. Kai set his tea down.

“Of course.” He said, standing up and holding his arms out to her. She shot out of her seat to wrap her arms around him and press her head against his shoulder. He held her tightly to him. One arm around her hips, the other on the back of her head. “What is wrong Irene? You can tell me.”

“I enjoy coming home, knowing that you are here, waiting for me. And I started thinking about what is going to happen when you aren’t my student anymore, when you,” she wasn’t sure if he would take the Library’s vows or return to his father and she didn’t want to think about it, “when you have moved on to something else, a new place, met new people. I like having you around.”

“That wont be for a long time Irene.” He said. “I’m not going anywhere, not anytime soon.”

“I know.” She said. “But it is inevitable. I didn’t realise how lonely I was before you. How lonely I will be when you are gone.”

 

_I’m gonna hold you forever_

_The wind will never change on us_

_As long as we stay with each other_

_Then it will always be like this_

 

“No matter what Irene, no matter where I am and what happens, I am going to be here for you.” Kai said softly, tightening his grip on her, he brushed a kiss to the top of her head. “I care for you and that is not going to change. I will stay with you for as long as I can, and I will always come for you. Nothing is going to change that.”

She had been cold before but, in his arms, and the room that he had kept warm for her, she was hot now. Not uncomfortably so though. It was… nice. Soothing to be held in his arms, she felt safe and protected, like nothing could get to her, not even the howling storm sweeping through the streets.

“Always Irene. I will always be here for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Here is an upload schedule  
> Also me: Here is a fic on a non upload day because I am very excited, happy with it and want to know what you all thing of it  
> Thank you for reading <3


	20. I'm sorry

The cell was dim and dark, Kai could barely see the far wall as he sat slumped, the collar heavy around his throat, he wasn’t sure what sorcery had created the cursed item, but it hurt and it burnt with a tang of chaos magic that was like poison to him. The air was stale and foul tasting, making his stomach twist. He was so hungry and thirsty, his stomach growled, and his throat was tight and dry. His hair felt disgustingly filthy and he wished he could have a shower and a meal.

  
His chest hurt and it wasn’t a physical pain, it was hard for him to describe, like there was a weight on him, hurting more than the bruises on his sternum, more than the splits in his knuckles. It was choking him, making it harder and harder to breath. He wished to be able to curl into a ball, tuck his head into his chest and just… cry.

  
The door was unlocked, and he tensed, he would have stood had he the energy within him. It swung open with a loud creaking sound, before a woman was pushed in. She hit the ground with a thud and a low cry of pain. The door was slammed shut again and Kai scrambled over to her. He recognised her in an instant, and he could have sworn that his heart leapt into his throat.

  
“Irene.” He pulled her onto his lap. She was bleeding. “Why are you… Heavens Irene.” His hands were sticky. She pushed herself up and slid her arms around his neck and held him close and tightly, burying her face in the nape of his neck. He held her back, just as tightly. Everything hurt but he ignore the aches to hold her against his battered body and breath, barely holding back tears that already burnt in his eyes.

  
“I’m sorry.” She whispered. “I am so sorry Kai.” He wound his fingers into her hair, it was knotted and damp and she smelt like the canal, stagnant water and algae.

“Why are you here Irene? We’re deep in the far end of Chaos.” He said, voice cracking. “You shouldn’t have come. You should have just left me here.” She shook her head, slowly releasing him. “You are hurt.” He couldn’t ignore the sensation of her blood on his hands, hot and sticky.

“They cut my brand to stop me using the Language.” She said. “I’m sorry. I failed.” He cupped her jaw, brushing his thumb over her cheek. “They plan to sell you at auction in order to start a war. I don’t know what they will do with me. Lord Guantes said that…” She swallowed. “He may give me to Alberich.” He could hardly see her in the dark, too dark for even his superior senses, she probably couldn’t see him at all.

“He’ll…” His voice caught in his throat and he couldn’t get the words out.

“Kill me.” Irene dropped her head, leaning into his hand. “I know. I don’t doubt that. I’m sorry Kai, I tried but Guantes was too strong for me. I couldn’t…” He kissed her forehead and the words died in her throat. “I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked. He felt tears on his hand, he’d thought it had been her blood for a second, hot against his cold hands, but it was too thin.

“Stop apologising.” He said. “This isn’t your fault. Look at me Irene.” Sniffing she managed to drag her eyes up to look at him. “This is Lord Guantes’ doing. This is not my fault, and this is not your fault.”

“Your uncle will destroy Vale’s world.” She said. “If I don’t save you, he’ll die too.” Kai nodded, he expected that kind of thing from his family, they were fond of ultimatums. “This will start a war, so many people are going to die because I wasn’t strong enough. Their deaths will be my fault. And the Library…”

“Don’t think about that.” Kai said. “I don’t know how long they will leave us alone. Just…” Irene kissed him. He froze for a moment and then he kissed her back, parting his lips against hers as they slipped into a passionate, desperate kiss. She could taste salt on his lips before she realised that it was because she was actually crying, and he was too.

Kai wound his fingers into her messy hair as the kiss broke and he rested his forehead on hers. “I should have done that months ago.” She breathed and Kai chuckled before trying to smear away her tears with his thumb.

“Yeah. You should have done.” He said, voice intoned with sadness. “I am going to miss you Irene.” He could hear footsteps outside, coming closer. He pulled her into another kiss. Irene grasped the front of his ruined shirt, clinging to him, holding as tightly as she could as the door was thrown open with a loud crash.

  
Irene screamed as someone grabbed her hair and pulled her back from Kai and onto the floor. She was dragged to her feet. “No!” She shouted, desperately fighting to do anything to get free from the man holding her. She scraped blunt fingernails over skin but found no purchase nor weakness. They held her in a grip tight enough to hurt as she thrashed in their grip, her attacks little more than that of a kitten though.  
Someone else was restraining Kai but he was too weak to fight back, but he was still struggling to resist. “Leave her!” His voice echoed through the room. “Please!”

“Kai!” Someone clapped a hand to her mouth, and she bit them, biting down as hard as she could and tasting blood. They swore and the hand was pulled away. She stamped on their foot and they lost their grip on her. She wriggled free and ran to Kai, giving him one last kiss. “I love you.” She said, feeling a needle stick into her neck...

 

 

The world went black.

 

 

She was tied down when she woke up, ropes were tight and rough around her wrist, burning as she pulled at them, and Kai was gone.

“Hello Ray.”


	21. Eggs?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Biology can get a bit confusing when you're a shape-shifting immortal lizard capable of controlling the rain and rivers
> 
> Especially when a glass of wine has been enjoyed 
> 
> Or three

"Kai... Can I ask you a strange question." He looked up from his book. Irene was sat on the loveseat opposite him, curled up with her book open, balanced on her knees. It was a quiet night in for a change, they were both in their pyjamas, the fire was burning and they were both quite comfortably full from the dinner she had cooked and the wine he had poured the room had been silent until Irene had broken it, but he hadn't minded it, it was a soothing silence, filled with turning pages and snapping flames. 

"I suppose you may." He said. "Though it does depend on how strange, and I may not have an answer for you." He slid a bookmark, there were always so many bookmarks over the house. They bother abhorred dog earing the pages and whilst they'd sit and read a book cover to cover, they so rarely had the time. 

"Do Dragons lay eggs?" She asked, he blinked slowly, staring at her. He opened his mouth, and shut it again, before opening it again. He held a hand up when she was about to tell him that it doesn't matter.

"Give me a minute." He said, getting up and disappearing from the room. She looked after him as he dissappeared out of the room. He returned with half a glass of whiskey. He took a sip. "No."

"Did you bring me any of that?" He looked down at the glass. It caught the light. He took another sip. 

"No." He said, a little sheepish. "Would you like some?"

"Yes please." He set his glass down and left, returning with one for her. He set it down and returned to his armchair. 

"No Dragons do not lay eggs, the females give birth to live young." He said, picking up his drink again. "Why would you think Dragons lay eggs?"

"They were talking about it in my book." She said, tapping on the cover. "Though the Dragons in this book seem to resemble those akin to the Welsh ideas of what they look like."

"Well, no eggs are laid." He said. "We aren't reptiles." He shook his head. His hair was always neatly tied into a braid but a few locks escaped, one swept over his eye and she was itching to reach forward and tuck it behind his ear. She clenched her hands into fists. 

"You do have scales." She pointed out. He tossed back the rest of his drink and moved to sit next to her.

 

"Give me your hand." He said, she took a sip of the whiskey, it burnt as she swallowed, and lay her hand on top of his. He guided it to his face, laying her fingers against his jaw, aware that she'd gone stiff. "I'm also warm blooded." He said softly. "I'm exothermic, in fact, I'm hotter than most humans." Irene flicked her eyes away from his smouldering gaze. "And yes, I have scales. But I do have skin." His face was soft to the touch, free of stuble (she'd never seen him with as much of a shadow and wondered if Dragons just didn't grow facial hair, she wasn't about to ask that, one silly question at a time) and pleasantly scented, he smelt of honeycomb, she quite liked it and would never admit as much. He released her hand and touched his braid. "I also have hair. I don't think the human manner of sorting creatures into categories really applies." She carefully pulled her fingers away from his jaw, her fingers tingled from the touch and she knew that it wasn't from the whiskey. Not yet.

She picked up the glass again and took a small sip. "Well I do suppose that Dragons do defy a lot of laws of nature. Mainly gravity." He snorted. "I'm not particularly fond of that part. Do Dragons ever get vertiginous?"

"Some do to start with." He said with a nod. "First time I flew I crashed. I was... Six I think. Broke a window because I should not have been flying in doors." She smiled. "Most Dragons are born in a half human, half Dragon form, and stay like that when they are young, I wouldn't say its a more natural state for us, but it's a safer state."

He said. She nodded. "You know how I said that a Dragon is raised by one parents determined by gender?" She nodded. "That doesn't usually happen until they're at least a few months old, Dragons breastfeed their young, I believe we are more mamal than lizard really."

"And a little bit avarian since you do have wings." She was smiling, not quite a smirk but very close, with a gleam in her eyes that he recognised from when she tried to make a god awful pun, or used a Starwars reference to get away with a crime. 

"Yes, I'm a lizard-bird-man." He said, smiling at her. She'd finished her whiskey, she could feel it warming her body. Though that may have been because of how close Kai was sitting. She laughed, pressing her fingers to her lips. Kai sat back against the arm of the sofa. "I love it when you laugh like that."

"I think that you have had enough to drink." She said, leaning forward to take his glass. "And I'm not sure if alcohol is even safe for a lizard-bird-man to drink." She said, smiling as he groaned and reached to take the glass back. "Alcohol is toxic to many creatures."

"Irene." He whined, she put the glass to her lips. "Come on, it's really good whiskey and there isn't much left."

"I know." She said, taking a sip. "It's excellent." She turned the glass so that the deep amber liquid caught the light. "Good choice buying this one. I thoroughly approve." She took another sip. "You can get another bottle." He lurched forward, she  gasped and pushed herself back nearly spilling it. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled the glass from her fingers, some splashed on her fingers.

He tossed it back in one, a small bead was on his lips and he flicked his tongue out to get it before he put his glass down. "It's your turn to buy the next bottle. I got this one." Irene glared at him but it didn't last long and she smiled. He was still holding her.

"So, to review." She said, marionetting his arm off her. "Dragons don't lay eggs, you are neither mammal, nor lizard, nor bird. What is your species?"

"Uhh... Homo Draco." He said. "We aren't that far from humans." He finished his drink so that she could not steal it again. "You know, there are reptiles that give birth to live young, not that I'm saying that I am a lizard, I'm just saying that you can't assume that all scaly creatures lay eggs, or are lizards."

"I suppose you could be amphibian..." She mused.

"I'm not." He said. "Any other questions?"

"Fancy fetching us another drink?" She asked. Kai sighed and got up to grab the glasses, he made it to the door before he turned around.

"Also, our brains are too big to be a reptiles, we are quite fond of our young, we never eat them, and if you pull my arm off, it won't regrow." He paused. "My teeth will though, which I think is a think reptiles do? Humans are weird, they only have a finite number."

"I've seen you bask in the sun, lizards do that." She said, pointing at him. "And in front of the fire."

"Oh no, I enjoy being warm, you do that too." He said, which was true. More than once he'd come in to find her on the floor by the fire because it was raining outside and she was cold as ice. 

"I don't want to get cold." She replied with a shrug. 

"Neither do I." He deplored the cold. 

"Because you're a lizard and you'll die if you do?"

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Yeah... You're right." His smile could melt her heart.

That one was definitely the whiskey talking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is dedicated to those on Tumblr asking why the frik flossy was shouting about eggs, thank you Kai and watches and windchimes
> 
> Also, she is meant to be saying reptiles, not lizards. But I forgot the word.  
> I never claimed to be intelligent


	22. School Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boarding school AU

“There is a new student.” Vale informed Irene as he took one of the empty seats next to her at the breakfast table, grabbing himself two piece of toast and the pot of jam as she slid him a cup of coffee that she had already prepared. “He arrived last night and is in my room. I really wanted a single this year, for my experiments.”

“Maybe he’ll help with them.” Irene wasn’t really awake quite yet. They were in their fifth year at school with only one left to go, it was odd for a student to join this late in their schooling, and not on the first day of term too. Their school was a prestigious boarding school that was nestled in the swiss alps, Vale had the luck of a wealthy family who could afford it, even if he was just sent there to get out of their hair (he didn’t really seem to care), and Irene was there on a scholarship, something she really questioned if she deserved on every day of the week that ended in Y.

“I doubt it. All monogrammed luggage, clothes made out of the best possible fabric. I think he’s nobility, certainly carries himself like it.” Vale said.

“You are nobility.” Irene said.

“Barely, no I think he is from an important family and… he’s coming over here.” Irene looked up as a tall student with hair that shone like raven wings was walking toward them. Despite his careful poise and grace, he somehow managed to give off an air of casualness. One of the sixth year girls dropped her pen and she gave a girly giggle that made Irene roll her eyes as she bent over to pick it up.

“Hey Vale.” His voice was low and husky, he was probably a fantastic singer and Irene forced herself to focus on drinking her coffee. “Mind if you join you and your friend?” Vale waved him toward an empty seat. “And what is your name, if I may request it?” He said to Irene, offering her his hand.

“Irene.” She said, shaking his hand. “And you are?”

“Kai.” He said with a warm smile that she returned instinctively. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

* * *

Kai found her in the library, hidden behind a pile of books, her head resting on the desk as an angry headache twisted behind her eyes and made her wish to crawl underneath the covers of her bed, or just sleep then and there. She had to maintain a certain quality of work in order to keep the scholarship since her parents could not afford the high fees and she didn’t want to move schools, especially not now.

“Are you feeling alright?” She opened her eyes and squinted at him. “Is your head hurting?”

“It is really bad.” She muttered, pushing herself up. “I have so much left to do though.” Kai looked at her various scattered notes. “That stupid test is stressing me out.”

“Hey relax.” He said with that bloody smile that she could not get out of her mind. “You are doing really well in class; you are always at the top. You are smart Irene; you don’t need to worry so much.” She shook her head and regretted it, putting a hand to her forehead. “Look, why don’t we go into town and you can take a break. I will get us coffee and I will quiz you.” Irene frowned, before she finally nodded.

Once the books were all away and Irene had packed her things away Kai grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” 

* * *

Irene was laying on Vale’s bed, her head hanging over the edge. “Vale, am I an idiot?” She asked, staring at the door. Vale looked up from the array of chemistry and biology textbooks spread across the floor of his and Kai’s shared room. Kai was currently out so Irene felt that she had some degree of privacy to talk to Vale, granted the door had to stay open during the day, but if she kept her voice down, no one would hear her.

“In what context?” He asked. “You got a ninety eight on that last literature test. But you are unable to swim. So yes, and no.”

“Again with the swimming thing?”

“You nearly drowned. Had Kai not been there, you would have done so.” Vale said. “You got lucky.” Irene wanted to make a dirty joke there, but that would have been too revealing. “What are you thinking about that makes you question your own intelligence rather than mine for a change?”

“You are intelligent, you just lack common sense and any sense of self-preservation, for god sake stop skipping meals in the pursuit of science, you’ll break something if you pass out face down in whatever you are studying this time.” She said, he rolled his eyes, it had only happened once, he’d past out face first into their chemistry set up, earning himself a trip to the nurse and both of them a catch up class to redo their ruined experiment.

“Tell me Irene.”

“I like Kai.” She said. “But he is always out on a date with some girl or other. I should give up.” Vale sat back, leaning against his chest of drawers and looked at her. “It isn’t like I am going to pluck up the courage to tell him that I like him. I have never been any good at… that.” It wasn’t like she tried in all honesty, she didn’t want to be embarrassed by getting rejected, the gossip was bad enough.

“He hates those dates.” Vale said. “He always comes back complaining that whoever he’s been out with is vapid, or boring, some even tricked him, and he went under the impression that he would be spending time with a big group of people, or that they would be spending the time revising. I keep telling him not to go but usually by the time I hear about them he has already accepted and doesn’t like to then go back on his promises.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, he actually has feelings for you and has no idea how to deal with that fact because you rarely have the time for anything but studying.”

“What?”

* * *

Irene hated the balls that the school insisted on throwing under the premise that many of their students would be moving on to positions where they would frequent such parties and it was good to get used to them. Irene just thought that they were annoying and taxing on the small bit of money that her parents could send her.

It was hard enough being the poor girl, being unable to afford the clothes that the others could just made her stand out and be easier to pick on. She ignored them and held her head high, unlike them, she was there because she was intelligent, they were there because mummy and daddy could pay their way.

The nearest town to the school was small but had two shops where she could buy dresses, likely because of all the students having to buy dresses at Christmas and at the end of the academic year. She had already given up on the first dress shop when a pair of sixth years loudly announced that she probably couldn’t afford anything from there anyway. The clerk had glared at her until she gave in and left.

“You look glum.” She nearly slipped on the ice, but Kai grabbed her arm, Vale hurrying to catch up. “Is everything alright?”

“I hate dress shopping.” She said, Kai looped his arm through hers. Vale walked at her other side. “They are all so expensive. Not to mention…”

“The other students again?” Vale asked and she nodded. “Have they seriously not grown up at all since you got here?”

“Not at all.” She said with a sigh. “But we have to go to this stupid ball, and I can’t re-wear my summer dress, I’ll get too cold and my dress from last Christmas doesn’t fit anymore.” She hadn’t grown much, she was seventeen and probably as tall as she would get but it was an inch too short and far too tight around the chest, something that was simultaneously nice to realise and incredibly annoying. She shoved her free hand into her coat pocket, her hands were cold, and she had forgotten her gloves. “They were talking about how I couldn’t afford anything, which I don’t think I can anyway.”

“Don’t your parents send you money for this kind of thing?” Kai asked, she shook her head.

“They send what they can, but I am only here because I won a scholarship.” She said with a shrug. “When the other students found out when we were in our first year, they decided to make my life hell, trying to ruin my things because they knew that I couldn’t afford to keep replacing it all.”

“That is horrible!”

“It is why I have a single room.” She said. “So that they can’t try anything like they used to.” She sighed. “Can I just hide and avoid this whole entire thing?”

“You tried that the year before last, remember?” Vale said. “I doubt it will work.” She huffed and leant her head on his shoulder.

“I don’t want to be tortured by this stupid thing.”

“Let me buy you a dress.” Kai said. “Seriously Irene, let me buy you whatever dress you want and show the absolute bitches that we go to school with that you are better than them in every single way.”

“I can’t let you do that.” Irene said. “I’ll find something.” She didn’t like it when her parents sent her money, it was even worse when Vale offered to pay for something for her. Kai had brought her coffee a few times and always refused to let her pay him back, a cheap coffee was one thing, but these dresses were expensive, in the hundred odd euro category at the very least.

“Please Irene.” Kai said, releasing her arm to instead grasp her hand between his. “Jesus you’re cold. Let me buy you a dress, and let me escort you, sorry Vale, because I am petty and to be honest if I have to deal with one more vapid girl asking if I am going with anyone, I will throw myself into the lake.”

“You can swim.”

“I will tie bricks to myself first.”

“How will you throw yourself in if you do that?” She asked, but she was smiling now.

“Please Irene. Let me buy you a beautiful dress, I will even come with you because you look like you would rather die than be shopping.”

“I would.”

“Exactly. Pretty please?”

“Fine.”

* * *

Kai’s breath caught in his throat as Irene made her way down the stairs, almost floating as her tulle skirt brushed the floor. The bodice and sleeves were dark green velvet with the skirt the same colour, the sleeves were just off the shoulders, revealing pale collarbones. “She’s beautiful.” He murmured to Vale who turned to look up at Irene before patting him on the shoulder.

“Tell her how you feel, or I will tell her for you.” Vale said, ignoring the fact that he had already told Irene that Kai had feelings for her.

“You are the worst.”

“I try.”

* * *

“Here.” Kai shrugged off his suit jacket to drape it over Irene’s shoulders. “You must be freezing.”

“I will admit that I am not the warmest.” Frost on the floor crunched beneath their feet as they walked along a small pathway outside in the gardens, Irene was keen for a break away from all of the people. “I didn’t like how they were looking at me.”

“They are jealous of you.” He said. “You look beautiful Irene; I really mean it.” If it wasn’t cold, she would have blushed, as it was her face was already flushed. “Though you manage to make the school uniform look stunning, so I shouldn’t be so surprised.” She looked at the nearest plant, a rosebush that had become encrusted with ice.

“You don’t have to be nice to me because you feel bad for me.” She said. “I don’t like pity.”

“I don’t pity you Irene. I am awed by you. You are intelligent, kind and beautiful. They are jealous that they have none of that, and I cannot get you out of my mind, I haven’t since I met you.” She sharply looked at him. It was now or never she told herself. Before deciding that no it was not.

“I want to show you something.” She said, holding her hand out to him, he smiled, and took her hand. She skirted around the edge of the garden, clutching the beautiful dress in one hand so that the skirt wouldn’t snag on anything, until they came to the small stone gazebo at the centre of the garden and at the very centre of the school. Ivy crept up the columns and onto the roof.

Irene loved it out there though she rarely visited, preferring the solitude of her books or privacy with just her friends. But she had come down the day before and noticed something, a quick glance told her that it was still there.

“Look up.” She breathed, and Kai did.

“Mistletoe.” He said, looking down at her again, she was watching him with nervous apprehension. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you planned this.”

“I am merely being opportunistic.” She said. He smiled before he cupped her jaw, ducked his head, and pressed his lips to hers in a soft, lingering kiss that warmed her through. It barely lasted a second before he pulled back. Her eyes were half shut, shadowed under long lashed. He grinned, and kissed her again, they sunk into a deep kiss which certainly would have got them into trouble had a teacher found them.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading ^^  
> Next fic should be up on Wednesday and it is Silver and Vale because a friend is begging me for it


	23. Waddles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A request from kai517-teenwriter over on tumblr

"Why do you have a duck in your bag?" Kai looked down, grinning, he pulled out the stuffed toy and held it out. "Did you go to the Fair? I thought we were going to go tonight!" Irene said, a little irritated.

"I went with Vale." Kai said. "He had a case. We can still go tonight though, I didn't stay long. And I won this, it's for you." Irene took it. It was maybe six inches high, made of soft, fuzzy yellow material. "I was going to call it Waddles, but I guess its up to you."

"You won me... A stuffed duck?" She asked, frowning. "Why?" He shrugged.

"I thought it was cute. And then I thought of you." Irene looked down, praying that she wasn't blushing. "Do you not like it?"

"No." She shook her head. "Thank you Kai. I love him. I think my parents are the only ones to ever give me something like this. And not since I was a little girl." She said the fuck on the corner of her desk. "Waddles. I like it."


	24. Liar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A prompt request from sorryilostmyself on tumblr

"Ignore me, I didn't see anything." Irene's voice was pure sarcasm, it dripped from her lips as she straightened up. "Sorry, do you want me to pretend that it's all okay? You said you stopped. You promised me. You looked me in the eye and you lied to me Vale." She paced to the other side of his cluttered study and spun back to face him, her skirts fanning out and she ignored the stack of papers she knocked over with the fabric as she set her jaw and took a deep breath, swallowing her anger.

"I do not care if you don't feel for me the way I feel for you. But I thought that we were friends Vale. But you lied to me when all I want to do is help you." She put her hand to her forehead and took a deep breath. Her head was throbbing. She was tired. And she was angry.

He'd tried to hastily cover up his forearms as shed come into the study, but he hadn't been quick enough and she'd seen the fresh needle marks in his skin. And immediately lost her temper. She was trying to reign it back now, but was struggling to do so. She leant against the desk.

"You just don't care, do you?" She asked, sharply looking up at him. "You are just too bloody selfish to care what other people think, to see how this is effecting the people around you, not just yourself."

"You are over reacting Winters. It was a low dose, just to help me sleep last night." Vale said. "Doesn't mean that you get to be a judgemental bi-" She crossed the room and the back hand hit him hard.

"No. It isn't just to help you sleep." Irene snapped. "Do not mistake me for an idiot Peregrine Vale. Do not think that you can get this past me. If it was nothing you wouldn't have been so desperate to hide it. You wouldn't have panicked. And you wouldn't have four marks when I saw you three days ago. So do not insult my intelligence." There was a reddening mark on his cheek and she stepped back, not feeling sorry in the slightest. "You should hope that Kai isn't as angry as I am when he finds out."


	25. I don't hate you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A silver x vale soulmates request from over on tumblr where your soulmate feels your pain when you do

"What did you do?" Silver asked, he'd been draped across Vale's favourite armchair and he stood as Vale staggered into the to the study, hand pressed to the bloody patch on his shirt. Silver rushed to catch him as he stumbled.

"Go away." Vale complained. "I don't need you." He tried to push Silver away.

"You bleed, I bleed, remember?" Silver said. "I was actually being productive, and all of a sudden I was in agony. What did you do Vale?" He'd lost the use of diminutives it would seem and Vale could hear the urgency in his voice.

"Someone attacked me." He muttered, slowly sitting on the sofa with a sigh of relief. "Not... My fault." Silver reached forward and pinched him. Vale narrowed his eyes.

"Don't pass out." He said. "You need to be in the hospital." Vale shook his head. Silver sighed and knelt on the floor in front of him. "I know that we are an odd pair, you hate me, but that doesn't change the fact that fate decided to throw us together. Let me help you."

"There's a first aid kit in the bathroom." Vale muttered, slumping against the couch cushions. "There should be a bottle of rubbing alcohol in there, to clean the wound. It's going to hurt." Silver nodded and left to get it. Vale began to unbutton his shirt, wincing in pain when he realised that some of the fibers had been pushed into the cut. He dropped it on the floor, if was ruined anyway, what damage would a few creases do?

"Here." Silver said, returning. He uncorked the bottle and sniffed it. "Definitely rubbing alcohol." He wrinkled his nose before grabbing a cloth to splash some onto.

"I would have just read the label." Vale said. "Pass it here. I don't need a need a nurse."

"Well maybe I want to play nurse." Silver replied. "Trust me my dear Vale, I know what I am doing." Vale rolled his eyes but didn't push it. Silver leant forward and began to carefully dab at the edges of the wound. Vale's knuckles showed white as he grasped the couch cushion. Silver's own hands shook and he gritted his teeth, but he didn't stop.

"Let me." Vale said, breaking the silence. "This is hurting you." Silver had gone pale, he was certainly getting used to the pain, what with Vale constantly getting into fights, but that didn't make it pleasant when it was really bad, like today.

"It's hurting you too." Silver said. "I'm nearly finished anyway." Still Vale reached for the cloth, fingers brushing Silver's. "Hands to yourself detective. Let me do this, and then you can kick me out of your rooms if you wish." He finally set the cloth down. "All done."

"There's whiskey over there." Vale waved a hand toward one of his cupboards. "You can pour yourself some if you want." Silver got up and splashed an inch into each glass and gave Vale one of them. "Thank you." Silver sat in the armchair, sprawling over it again to nurse his glass. "And I don't hate you Silver. It's... Complicated." Silver took a sip.

"Isn't it always?" He muttered, staring into the glass. "This soulmated thing is tricky business my dear." Vale sighed.

"I need a new shirt."

"I'm not complaining." Vale reached down with a low degree of pain, and tossed his bloody shirt at the Fae. Silver caught it and threw it back, smiling. "You are so cruel to me." He dramatically proclaimed, putting a hand to his forehead.

"I know. It's fantastic." Vale said as he tossed back the last of his whiskey and headed into his bedroom. Silver was on his feet as he exited, now wearing a fresh black shirt, with a dressing robe thrown over it.

Vale nearly walked straight into him, having not expected him to be on the other side of the door. Silver stumbled and Vale reached out to grab him, but in his wounded state, it hurt, and then both took a tumble to the floor. Silver gasped in pain, taking a few deep breaths with his eyes shut, waiting for it to fade away again.

"I was just about to say I was heading home, now that I know you're okay." Silver muttered. "There was no need to tackle me. If you want me to stay, you could just ask that of me." He propped himself up on his elbow. "Are you hurt?"

"You're in pain too Silver." Vale muttered. "Obviously."

"Hmm." Silver said. "Does this mean that I can play nurse a little while longer?" He didn't give Vale chance to respond, leaning in close, he slipped his fingers inside of Vale's shirt, sliding them over taught muscle to the cut, he gently ran his fingers around the edge of it, ignoring the occasional twinge of pain in his abdomen. Vale grabbed his wrist and yanked it away before pinning it to the floor above Silver's head, leaning down to keep him from moving it. When Silver reached for him with his free hand, Vale pinned that one too.

"Stop." He said.

"You know..." Silver breathed. Vale was maybe three inches away from him, he could see stubble, dark on his jaw, flecks of gold in his eyes, like sunlight trapped in tawny. There were a plethora of tiny scars across his face, one that Silver particularly liked was the one that curved under his left eye. The first injury Vale has sustained that he'd felt. The first time he realised that maybe he would not be alone forever. "You are almost close enough to kiss at this distance. Shame really, unless you plan on kissing me."

"I hate you."

"I thought you said you didn't hate me." Silver said with a pout.

"I don't want to kiss you." Vale said. Silver snorted.

"You haven't released me." He said. "Your pupils are dilated, you're flushing, and if I find your pulse..." He wriggled a hand out of Vale's grasp and gently touched his throat. "It's racing." He breathed. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that you very much want to kiss me. Or do you want me to kiss you?" He slid his fingers across the back of Vale's neck and into his hair. "My dear Vale." He was almost purring.

"Yes." Vale muttered, unsure of himself. "I-" he swallowed down his prejudices and his pettiness. "I want you to kiss me."

And Silver did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have another ficlet to post tomorrow about Silver and Vale meeting because oh boy do I ship Vale and Silver! Specifically past Vale and Silver with a very messy break up.  
> I hope you enjoyed and if you head over to tumblr (notquitebroken) you can send me requests, or down in the comments on here, they're usually posted as soon as I finish the request


	26. The First Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friends been after this for a while and I said Wednesday and it's technically Wednesday for me so here we go, before I go to bed, Silver and Vale's first meeting, leading to... Something else. Vale is around nineteen

He had been sent with instructions. Don't lurk in the shadowy corners. Socialise. Don't drink too much. Be forward, but not to forward, find a nice lady, preferably wealthy and of high birth and ask her escort for an introduction. Ask for a dance. Don't bore her with science talk.

"I haven't seen you here before." Someone said, Vale had seen him almost prowling toward him. "It must be your first time at one of these shindigs." Vale looked the man up and down, tall and with a willowy build, his golden skin was tanned perfectly, slitted pupils dilated. His hair was neatly tied back, falling down his spine like a perfect waterfall.

A Fae.

"It is." He said, taking a sip of his wine. "I am thoroughly underwhelmed." His voice was dry as sand as he spoke, turning to watch the dancers again. "And you are?"

"Lord Silver. Of Lichtenstein." The man performed a bow with a flourish of his hand. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. You must be the young Earl of Leeds." With his father's death only three months prior and no elder brother, he'd stepped up to the roll, only to realise that it was genuinely pointless, and decide to attend university instead.

"I am." Vale said. "I was not expecting a reputation to proceed me." Silver smiled, his teeth were perfect, a little sharp but perfect. He wondered where that thought had come from. A glamour. He told himself. It must be the glamour.

"Only a little." Silver's shrug was casual and yet it still had and air of... Not quite human. It was too feline, all of his movements were. He swallowed.

"I need some fresh air." Vale muttered. "Excuse me, Lord Silver." He gave him a half bow before heading for the nearest door out onto the balcony. He swallowed the rest of his drink and exchanged the glass for a new one as he left.

The air was blessedly cold, and it was quiet, everyone else was inside, enjoying food and wine and dancing. He slowly exhaled, leaning on the wall to look down at the well kept gardens.

It had been too hot in there, everything had been too close and suffocating. Vale wouldn't consider himself claustrophobic, but it had all been too much for him. He shut his eyes as took a slow, deep inhale of the cold air. He didn't like people, and right now there were too many of them in the ballroom. His mother was hoping he would come home having met a woman he wished to court, which was moving things far to fast for him, not to mention that he had no interest in getting married, and half of the women in that room were vain little creatures, woefully educated and incredibly boring to talk to. The other half were certainly more interesting to talk to and could hold a good conversation, it was why they were already married, there was something to them other than their families wishes.

Was there more to him than his family's wishes?

"If I don't know any better I would say that you don't like me." Silver said, striding out onto the balcony. Vale sighed.

"I don't know you, sir." He replied, taking a sip of his wine. "I wouldn't know to dislike you, or to like you, for that matter."

"Don't you want to?" Vale nearly snorted. "How rude my dear lord Vale." Silver moved to stand at his right side, putting his hands on the wall to lean on it, similar to how he leant on it. He was wearing gloves a few shades darker than his grey suit. "You could get to know me, maybe you'll enjoy it. I have been told that I am delightful company." There was something about the way the words rolled off his tongue, an almost licentious manner to them, raffish and casual and almost purring in his ear in soft low tones.

More wine. 

"And why would I do that? I know that Fae trick, lie and glamour people."

"I cannot lie my dear Lord Vale." He said softly, quietly, dangerously. "My kind are unable to. Everything that I tell you... Is the truth. You would enjoy getting to know me. I would make sure of that in fact." He reached over to touch Vale's arm, Vale stiffened, resisting the urge to jerk away from him. His hand was warm even through his shirt and suit jacket. 

Vale turned to tell him to leave, but the words died in his throat. Silver was a scant inch away, his eyes intently watching him. There was a slight pink to his cheeks. His hair was silver, parted over one eye and a small part of Vale's mind wanted to know what it was like to run his fingers Silver's hair. His lips looked soft, his skin too. He wondered if he would be gentle. 

"Let's get out of here." Silver said. "It's dull. I can think of better things to do. But only..." 

"Only if?"

"Only if you say yes." Silver said. He reached into a pocket and handed him a calling card, signed 'Silver' with a flourish. "Meet me at this address." Vale took the card and put it in your pocket. "Finish your drink first, and hopefully, I will see you soon." Silver pushed himself away from the wall and stalked away. "Just if you have any doubt about me glamouring you, this gives you time for it to wear off if I was. Its your choice, my dear Lord Vale." And then he was gone. 

Well, it was still making connections, his mother would approve. He pulled the card out again and flipped over. This was probably a bad idea. He finished his wine. 

And he didn't care. 

"I'm glad you're here." Silver said, when Vale was led up to the door of his rooms by a servant. He'd lost his jacket and cravat. "Come in." 

"I was debating not coming." Vale said, looking around the room, there were bookcases, stuffed to the brim, all of the spines showed wear and had all been perfectly dusted. "I'm meant to be mingling and talking to people at that ball."

"Well you're talking to me, that counts." Silver said, trailing his fingers across Vale's shoulder. "Let me help you with your coat." Vale let him take it, each touch was like electricity on his skin. "And if anyone asks, we are discussing... Politics. Are you involved in politics?" Vale shook his head. "No. Me neither." He said, Vale chuckled. "I'm sure that we can come up with a good excuse for you to be here." He trailed his hand over his shoulder and up to his jaw. Vale's breath caught in his throat. "Later though." 

He leant in, and kissed him. 

They could talk later, Vale was more interested in Silver pulling him toward his bedroom right now. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vale's observational skills get the better of him when he realises that Silvers pretty hot  
> Thank you for reading  
> Please kudos and comment


	27. Panic Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set two weeks after the lost plot and Irene falls asleep at Vale's during a storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains: panic attacks, ptsd

The storm was howling outside. It was pouring down, the rain slapped against the window panes, unending. Lighting cracked, splitting the sky in a sudden flash of brilliant white light that burnt his eyes. He heard a cry of shock, and the sound of shattering glass, and he bolted up the stairs to the second bedroom. He and Vale had been talking late, Irene had long since given up pretending to wide awake and had retired for the night.  
Irene was on the floor, her eyes fixated on the window, a glass shattered on the floor. She was gasping for breath, chest heaving in short, uneven jolts. More lightning cracked and she jerked.

"Irene." She didn't react, he wasn't sure if she was even hearing him. "Irene. Irene. Look at me, it's just a storm. Look at me Irene." He cupped her face and forced her to look into his eyes. He pinched her arm and she finally managed to focus her eyes on him, before they unfocused again. "Irene. It's just a panic attack. Listen to me." He brought her close, against his chest. He looked up, Vale was in the doorway. He looked down at Irene again and pulled her onto his legs, aware that there was broken glass and desperately tried to avoid cutting either himself or Irene. He rubbed soothing circles on her back as he carefully lay her head on his chest. "Irene, I need you to try and match your breathing with mine, alright? You need to breath, you could damage your lungs." She coughed, trying to calm her racing heart but the thought that she was about to choke on it, like it was in her throat. He pressed his lips to her head. "Breath in." He murmured and she did. "And out again." Her breath caught and she coughed again. "Breath in Irene. I've got you, you're safe." She turned to press her forehead against his shoulder. Her eyes were burning.

"I'll make some tea." Vale said in a low voice. "And bring it up. Bring her into the study if you can, there's a lot of glass shards." Kai nodded. Irene hiccuped and tried to push herself away from Kai, but he kept her close.

"Just relax 'Rene." He said softly. "We can move when you're ready to." He slid his fingers through her hair. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"It sounded like a gun." She whispered into his shirt. "It..." She swallowed.

"It's alright." He said. "I've got you. You're safe. It's just us, Vale is downstairs, making us a cup of tea. The housekeeper is in her room. No one here is going to ever hurt you. I promise." She swallowed and slowly eased herself away.

"Thank you." She whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise." He said. He looked around. "Let's get you off the floor and downstairs. I'll come up and clean the glass in a while." She was shaking when she stood up and she cringed, yelping and grabbing him close. "It's alright." He said. "It is just a thunder storm. You aren't going to be hurt." She nodded, biting her lip. He ignore that glass in his knee as he knelt in front of her, cupped her jaw and softly kissed her, she was freezing cold to the touch. "I'll keep you safe this time. I promise." He said against her lips. "I promise." He kissed her again.

Irene knew that Kai still felt guilty from standing there when Hu pulled the gun on her, unable to react until it was too late and she was bleeding out on the floor. She'd tried telling him that she didn't blame him, but that hardly mattered when he blamed himself. He slipped his arm around her hips when she was ready to get up again, and Irene let herself be led, leaning on him, down to the study. Vale was waiting for them. He poured Irene a cup of tea and set it in front of her, when she had reached to take it, her hands had shook.

"What was that?" He asked.

"They're called panic attacks." Kai explained. "It's  a response that the body can have to particularly stressing stimuli. For me, it's small spaces. For Irene..."

"It was like a gun shot." She whispered.

"There's something called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Sometimes known as shell shock, it's exactly what it says on the tin. Traumatic memories can cause these attacks." Kai said. "Irene thinks I have it, and now I think she does too. Its one of those things that you sort of have to learn to live with, and adapt to the varying symptoms and triggers as you learn them. Storms, small spaces, sometimes there aren't triggers, and they just come on. I haven't had one in a while though."

"This is my third." Irene said. "In as many months."

"Do they go away?"

"I don't know." Kai said. "For some people, I think so, some people do therapy, some medication."

"They say that it gets easier." Irene said, finally trusted herself to pick up the tea cup. "But I know from what I researched, it doesn't go away. It'll be with us for as long as we can remember it, and possibly even longer. Our brains remember to be scared, even if we don't know why we should be scared. I have no reason to fear the storm. I know I am safe. But I panic nonetheless."

"I'm glad you decided to not go home. Better that you are with us than alone right now." Vale's smile was warm and kind, and Irene struggled, but managed to smile back. "Drink your tea. It's chamomile. It's meant to be quite relaxing, you look like you need it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I've been having sparodic panic attacks since I was 17, and yet I completely forgot how to define it and how to Google it. So smort  
> Thanks for reading, love y'all!


	28. Pillow Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains: non sexual nudity, implied sex, fluff, romance 
> 
> Going to start going back to add tags to each individual ficlet so that people know what's in each one since they do range from silly fun to Kai wants to get some

"Hello Trouble." Her voice broke the silence of the study and Kai looked up, breaking into a wide smile, eyes brightening in a heartbeat as he realised that Irene really was stood in the doorway. "I've missed you." She was embraced in his arms a second later, wrapping her arms around his middle and holding him as tightly as he held her.

Kai kissed her, pressing her back against the door frame, cupping her jaw, the touch of his hands was tender and careful, the touch of his lips was hot and passionate. "You aren't hurt, are you?" He asked. It had been nearly a month since they'd last seen each other and even after short assignments it wasn't uncommon for Irene to return bruised and beaten. She shook her head and he kissed her harder. "I've missed you." He put his fingers under her chin and tilted her head, allowing access to her throat, where he trailed light kissed until she was weak at the knees. She'd missed his touch.

"We have a bed." She said. "No one else is here, right?" He shook his head and she gasped as he swept her up in his arms, and carried her off.

#

Their legs were still entwined, Kai tracing patterns along the side of her bare ribcage, her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, half lulled to sleep by the steady beating. "You know, if this is how I get treated when I go away, I may do it more often." She remarked, resting her chin on his sturnum and looking up at his face.

"Please don't." He said. "I've missed you so much 'Rene. I like having you safe and with me." He grazed his fingers up her back, making her bite her lip and arch to try and escape the tickling touch.

"I like being here." She said. "And I'm not protesting about being carried off to the bedroom." He laughed. "It's been a long, lonely month. I've barely had anyone to talk to. I don't like assignments like that. I'm not the most social person in the world, but I still need someone to talk to now and then." Kai laughed. Irene was far from extroverted, though she managed to pretend to be such a lot of the time, he'd come home a few times to find her curled up reading, cacooned in a blanket, in a manner that he'd quickly learnt meant that she just needed some alone time, and maybe a cup of tea and a kiss on the forehead, until she had recharged a few hours later.

"Well you can talk to me." He said, hands finally stilling and settling on her hips. 

"I know I can." She said, leaning her face on him so that she didn't have to keep propping herself up. "I'm not meant to talk to you about work though." His hands were warm on here bare skin, they'd only haphazardly pulled the sheets over them and most of it was caught around their legs, luckily the room was warm. "I do it anyway. But it wasn't that interesting of an assignment. I spent most of my time researching the book, then the owner, then I simply asked if I could buy it and he said yes. I expected to be another few days, I thought he'd say no."

"You planned for him to say no?"

"Of course. It took me awhile to find the book and him and when I found him I managed to pull blueprints and security information to formulate a plan to steal from him if he said no." She propped her chin up again. "I had this whole plan, a very good plan at that for a nice change, and he just... Let's me walk away with the book." Kai laughed. "I'll admit, I feel a little let down."

"Well if you want, we can go and find somewhere to break into, for old times sake." He said with a cheeky grin that made her wonder why it took her so long to give up her scruples and kiss him. "Just for a bit of fun, we did make an excellent team."

"Kai we made a fantastic team." She said, smiling. "But no. No breaking and entering tonight, I'm content to lie here until I have to move." Kai smiled. "Who would have thought that I would enjoy pillow talk?"

"I'm fantastic company." He said, still giving her that gorgeous smile of his. "A great conversationalist too." Irene's smiled was bright but sleepy, slowly blinking up at him, not unlike a cat, as she tried to stay awake. "You should get some sleep."

"Probably." She carefully moved herself off him and onto the empty side of the bed. He rolled over to pull her against his chest and tuck her head underneath his chin. He made her feel safe when he held her, protected in his arms. "I like talking to you though." Kai smiled before he kissed the back of her head.

"You can talk to me in the morning. I'm thinking breakfast in bed."

"Oh that does sound good." She said. "Who for?"

"You. Make you breakfast and coffee, draw you a bath... Spoil you for a day. I picked up a few books earlier that I thought you would like." His fingers skated from her hip to her shoulder, Irene suppressed a shiver, goosebumps followed the trail of his fingers. "Treat you the way you deserve, and should have been treated your entire life." He swept her hair out of the way and kissed the top of her spine, above her brand. "God knows you deserve."

"I don't know what I did to deserve you." Irene said. "But I am so glad that you are in my life." He kissed her back again. "You said we should go to sleep. The list of things that are going to happen if you keep kissing me does not involve sleep." Kai chuckled.

"That isn't going to convince me to stop it." He muttered, lips almost right against her skin. "Tell me to stop if you want me to." She was silent. He kissed her again. Irene sighed.

"Come on." She said. "We should go to sleep. We've had our fun." 'Fun' meant that there were clothes to trip over in the morning, but that was a problem for tomorrow Irene and Kai.

"One last kiss?" He asked, she twisted to be able to catch his lips in a kiss. "Goodnight." He said, she smiled.

"Good night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, if you want to leave any prompts, please do, I've been loving responding to the ones I get on Tumblr


	29. Hoplessely Romantic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from anonymous on tumblr
> 
> Contains: fluff, angst, romance, happy ending

“We could be an epic novel of forbidden lovers, like Romeo and Juliet without the ending.” Irene laughed, before sighing and shaking her head. 

“I should hope not.” She said. “If I remember correctly, they die, and they always die, no matter what world you read it in, starcrossed lovers, doomed to a fate that they shall never escape.” She took a deep breath. “You know that we can’t be like that Kai. You are my student.” She knew that they both knew that it was a lousy excuse that neither of them believed. 

She was his teacher, but more importantly (though she did know exactly how relationships with teachers could end, badly) she had to remain neutral, and if neutral meant that she had to hide her feelings from the world, from him, and even from herself, then she would have to. Her life, her love, her happiness, was never going to be worth the repercussions, she couldn’t allow herself to be that selfish.

“But…” He trailed off and she looked at him. “If we don’t get caught, if the Library never finds out, if my father never finds out… Irene, why not give it a chance?” It was hard to say no to those eyes of his. She loved them. And gods… was probably the most attractive man she had ever met and he wanted her of all people! It confused her sometimes, she was plain and he was… stunning.

“Because I think we both know that it won’t be worth it.” She said quietly. “And please don’t ever ask me about this again Kai. Please.” He gave a small nod. “I want you to be happy, and I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay in the Library for me, or like you have to keep such a secret from your family, just for my sakes. So, let me tell you that it is because you are my student, and pretend that you believe me when I say it, because that hurts me enough.” 

###

“I thought you said…” Kai trailed off, he was still shocked by Irene’s kiss. “That we could not be together.” 

“I did.” She said quietly. “But… after everything that has happened, I thought that I was going to lose you, possibly forever. I thought that I wouldn’t see you again, and suddenly, there you were. This is an awful idea and we could get into a lot of trouble. But I hated that feeling of knowing that you wouldn’t be home when I got there. I hated hearing you resign the Library and having to stand there and hold it together when all I wanted to do was hug you and cry.

“I am done with punishing myself. Refusing to let myself be happy because what someone may think. They owe me so much, and I think it is finally time that I do what I want, and let myself be happy.” She smiled up at him and he smiled back. “Even if we do end up star-crossed and doomed. It’ll be worth it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading


	30. Bodice Ripper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A knotted corset is an absolute nightmare

"Take a deep breath." Bradamant said.

"Do I have to?" Irene muttered. She'd given up trying to lace up her corset and have been forced to swallow her own pride and ask for help with the garment, she would probably need help with the dress' buttons too. Thank goodness it went on over a slip.

"Well I could lace it as tightly as I can when you exhale, only then you won't be able to breath in. And you will probably pass out if I do that. How do you feel like tightlacing?"

"I would rather not having to endure that." Irene replied.

"Then behave and take a deep breath. Or learn how to do these yourself." Irene swallowed, and took a deep breath. Bradamant pulled the corset laces tight and she yelped. "That wasn't too hard, was it?" She said. "I just need to tighten it a little more around the waist."

"Must you?" Irene asked, putting her hand to her stomach. "I do need to be able to breath and eat dinner."

"Yes. Breath in." Irene sighed before she complied and filled her lungs. "There." She pulled tight and forced Irene to exhale again. Bramant quickly tied the laces into a tight knot, so that it wouldn't come loose.

"This feels like torture." Irene muttered, she took as deep of a breath as she managed and it was nowhere near what she could usually do. Bramant rolled her eyes before passing Irene a pair of knives in thin leather sheaths.

"Hide those and put your dress on."

 

#

 

"Why did you tie the knots so tight?" Kai complained. The heat from five minutes ago had passed as soon as they realised there was no easy to way to get her out of the corset. "I should just cut them."

"I had to get Bradamant to do it for me." She said. "and don't. I don't have a second one for tomorrow. I hate fashion." 

"So do I right now." Kai muttered. His shirt had been discarded on the back of a chair but now the room was growing cold. 

"Ha!" Kai exclaimed. 

"Shh, I don't know who's rooms are nearby." Irene said. "Did you get it undone?" 

"One of the knots." Kai said. "Bradamant double knotted it. How bloody annoying." Irene would have laughed but in order to get purchase on the knots the ties first had to be tightened and she wasn't sure that she had the breath for it. 

Irene sighed. "I think she did this deliberately."

"Well neither of us knew I would be here." 

"I meant ask for help." Irene said. 

"Are you sure that this isn't the time to try and act out your favourite bodice ripper?" 

"I don't like bodice rippers." Irene said. "Even if I did like reading books of that nature, I'd go for something of much higher quality." Kai pulled on the strings and she gasped for breath. 

"Sorry." He quickly said. "I think I've nearly got it... There." He pulled the ties loose and Irene took a deep breath before pulling the offending garment off. "Is that better?" 

"Yes, thank you." Irene said, she ran her fingers down her side, it was sore to the touch. "Who would have thought that, of all the things to take my breath away, it was Bradamant." Kai huffed but when she turned to face him, he was smiling at her. She slid her arms around him, kissing him. His hands were gentle, Kai was worried about there being bruises left on her skin. She pulled away from him, and yawned. Kai touched her cheek. 

"You should get some sleep." He said. "You need it." 

"You should too." She very much would have preferred other... Activities, but he was right and she was exhausted. "Stay the night though?" Kai curled his body around hers, she tucke her head under his jaw, moving until she was right against him, his bare chest (did the man ever wear proper pyjamas?) radiated heat and she slowly exhaled, and smiled. 

"Goodnight." He kissed the top of her head. 

"Night Kai." 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading Kai basically getting cockblocked by a piece of ribbon!


	31. Safety first

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt request by watches-and-windchimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains: fluff and reckless idiocy

Kai was already in the kitchen when Irene stumbled out of bed, still bruised and sore and aching all over, in desperate need of aspirin and caffeine. He was shirtless, as usual, she doubted he owned proper pyjamas, humming a slow melody to himself as he busied himself with a coffee pot.

"Morning." She rasped, interrupting his tune. She coughed, her throat was burning. He looked up, almost smiling but there was worry clear in his eyes.

"Here." He said. "Aspirin, and honey and lemon, its good for sore throats." He cupped her jaw and kissed her forehead. "Did you sleep well?" She shook her head. "You were tossing and turning a bit earlier. Nightmare." She nodded, it was easier than actually talking. "Sit down the toast should be ready-" She reached out to tug forcefully on his sleeve, her eyes on the oven. She pointed at it.

"Oh." The toast was on fire. "The toast is done." He said dumbly, before coming to his senses and pulling the toast out and dropping the tray into the sink with a curse, turning on the tap before throwing open the windows.

“Safety first. What are you? FIVE?” She asked before spluttering on the thick smoke spilling from the destroyed toast, having to lean on the door. "Next time, pay attention. Please don't burn down my house."


	32. Bless You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from watches and windchimes on tumblr

Irene sneezed before sniffing and reaching for her handkerchief.

"Coming down with something?" Kai asked, looking at her from over his book. She snuffed again before wiping her nose and nodding. "I told you to bring an umbrella." She glowered at him, and sneezed again.

"I get it." She complained. "You know when it's going to rain, with your sixth sense or whatever."

"Natural affinity." He said.

"Whatever." She muttered. She felt like she was burning up, too warm in a room that she knew was never warm. Her throat ached and her nose kept running.

"Maybe you should go and get some sleep?" Kai suggested, reaching for her bookmark. "I can make you some tea, and then you should get some rest. I don't want you to infect me."

"I shall try and not sneeze on you." Irene replied. "Thank you though, that sounds good." He smiled before getting up.

"I'll be five minutes. Try not to keel over before then, alright?" Irene would have rolled her eyes if doing so wouldn't have hurt, he was so dramatic at times, she wasn't sure if he thought that it was funny or if he was just that way, but either way, it was a lot at times. She tried to get some more work done whilst he was downstairs but she ended up giving up and moving to curl up against the arm of the couch, leaning her head against the pillows and shutting her eyes.

She'd only meant to shut her eyes for a second but she must have slipped unconscious for a couple of minutes because her eyes flickered open to see Kai knelt on front of her, his fingers brushed her forehead lightly.

"You've got a bit of a fever." He said softly. "Do you need to see a doctor?" Irene shook her head and he arched an eyebrow. "Irene, if you're sick you should see someone."

"It's a cold Kai. I'll be-" She sneezed and he jerked away from her with a look of disgust on his face. "Sorry." She squeaked, putting her hands over her nose and mouth as she sneezed thrice in quick succession. "I didn't mean to do that." He pulled himself up onto his knees and sighed.

"You're lucky you're cute." He said before standing up and brushing his legs off, even though no dust clung to his immaculate trousers. "Drink your tea, and get some sleep. And please Irene, don't ever sneeze on me again. Ugh, I need a shower now."


	33. A Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from anonymous on tumblr

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am particularly proud of this one  
> Contains: minor angst, blood

The hospital room was small, but she paced it anyway, taking five steps in one direction before pivoting to pace back the other way. She nervously bit her lip, worrying the flesh until she could taste the coppery tang of her own blood, and even then she didn't stop.

"Sit down." Vale said tiredly. "Winters... Irene. Sit down, before you fall down." She sighed, and dropped into the seat next to him. "It'll be okay. Strongrock is... Well, strong. He'll pull through. You'll see." Irene shook her head, teaching up to touch her bloodied lip.

"And if he doesn't?" She asked, a catch in her voice, she stared at her fingers, the tips scarlet with her own blood and for a moment she had to scrub the image from her head that it was his blood. Kai's blood. His blood on her hands. Him taking a knife to the gut that was meant for her. Him bleeding out onto her skirts as she clutched onto him and screamed for help, until her throat was hoarse and barely a whisper and all she could do was hold him and hope. "It will be my fault."

Vale grabbed her hands, pulling out his handkerchief to clean the blood off her fingers. "No." He said firmly. "Pull yourself together Winters. You need to keep it together, alright? It isn't your fault. What happened? It was not your fault. You didn't decided to stab Strongrock. It wasn't your knife in his stomach. It was not your choice. It wasn't your fault."

"They'll be trouble if he dies." She said. "Even if you say I'm not to blame, someone will have to take the fall, his family will be out for blood."

"You killed the man responsible for this." Vale said, shaking his head. "They have had their blood. Their pound of flesh. Now, Irene, please, pull yourself together. He'll need you to be strong whilst he can't be. Can you do it?" She swallowed, and finally nodded. "Good. Now, go and clean your face off, and give your hands a proper wash too, maybe they'll have something when you return."

"I'm not a child." She said, very nearly pouting.

"I know. But you're tired, you're scared, and you are bleeding. Get yourself cleaned up, you will feel better when you do." Irene sighed and pulled herself to her feet and wondered off to find somewhere she could freshen up, stopping to ask a nurse where the nearest bathroom was. Vale was talking to a nurse in a hushed voice when she returned and her heart leapt into her throat, pulse stuttering and she felt cold. Vale looked up at her before he thanked the nurse and strode to her. He grabbed her arm to steady her, she felt light headed and sick.

"What's happened?" She asked. "I don't think I can handle bad news right now. The day is already bad enough just... Take me home?"

"He's on a ward." Vale said, shaking his head. "They're waiting for him to come around, but it looks like he will make a full recovery. Apparently it was quite remarkable, once they stopped the bleeding, there was almost no damage." Irene stared at him with sudden clarity. "He will be fine. Come on, let's go and find him, I'll take you home once you've seen him for yourself."

He led her down winding halls and up a flight of stairs before checking the name on a door. "This one." He said, pushing the door open. "The last bed on the left apparently." They walked down the room, shoes impossibilly loud on the hard floors in the nearly silent room. Everyone was sleeping. There were curtains pulled around each bed and Vale tentatively pulled them back to check. "Here." He held them back to allow Irene to step past him. She hurried to sit on the edge of Kai's bed, it creaked, and leant down to kiss his forehead.

His eyes flickered open. "Oh aren't you a sight for sore eyes." He groaned. "I hurt all over, did you push me under a hansom?" Irene's laugh turned into a hiccup.

"I thought you were going to die." She whispered. "I was so scared, you should never have gotten hurt, this is all my fault."

"It's not." He said softly, reaching up to cup her face.

"You're lucky I got Vale to come here. They wouldn't tell me what was going on, they refused." She said, leaning down to kiss his forehead again. "I assumed the worst."

"They wouldn't?"

"Winters isn't your next of kin." Vale explained. "She isn't family or your spouse so they weren't allowed to tell her anything, technically. I pretty much gave them no choice but to tell us and let us in to see you."

"Thank you." Kai said. "Can I have a minute alone with Irene?"

"Of course." Vale said with a nod, bowing out. Kai ran his fingers along Irene's cheek and she tilted her head to press against his hand, smiling. He was warm and she felt so cold.

"Marry me, please?" She said quietly, his eyes widened. "I don't know what I would do without you Kai, and if anything were to happen to you in this world, I'd be powerless, unable to be at your side. I don't want that, I can't do that again."

"Dragons don't normally get married." He said.

"Dragons don't normally join the Library, and they don't normally fall for humans, do they."

"No, I suppose they don't." He said, smiling. "Did you get me an engagement ring?" Irene sat up and pushed hair out of her eyes, before doing the same to him, smoothing loose strands behind his ear.

"That proposal was more of a spur of the moment, I haven't been able to think straight, eat or sleep, and it's gone three in the morning." She confessed. "I do mean it though Kai. Marry me."

"Okay." He said. "As soon as they let me out, we can start planning it. I love you Irene."

"I love you too." 


	34. Home sweet Holmes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Request from anonymous on tumblr

"You are welcome to read almost anything off the shelves." Irene said. Her room was a mess but they needed rest, to wash, and for her to check in, then they would see about getting Vale home.

"Almost anything?"

"The ones in boxes are either very rare or very fragile, I'd prefer they stay in as good of a condition as I can keep them." Irene said, and he nodded. "You can read them if you want, I'd just prefer it if you don't."

"What do you recommend?" Vale asked.  
"I've always been impartial to the Sherlock Holmes books." She confessed, Kai was watching with a smirk. "Try a study in scarlet perhaps. They're detective novels, Kai stop laughing, there's also the Moriarty stories, and young Sherlock Holmes, but the classics are a good place to start." She scanned the bookcase before plucking a copy off its shelves. "Try this one. I have a few versions from a few different alternates and they can really vary, but that's a good one."

"One of your favourites?"

"I think she prefers a Scandal in Bohemia." Kai said. Irene shook her head.

"The Speckled Band, actually." She said. "Or the Hounds of Baskerville. I don't think I could pick an outright favourite."

"You love them all?"

"I grew up reading them."

"They are childrens books?"

"Any book is a child's if they can get their hands on it." She said with a shrug. "The only time my parents stopped me from reading something was if they thought it was inappropriate for my age, never if they thought it would be too hard. Mother hated it when I read Horror books, she always tried to stop me but that usually made me try to read them even more. If they didn't explain why I shouldn't read something then I wanted to read it out of curiosity. "

"Spite." Kai said.

"That too." Irene said with a shrug, smiling. "Pettiness is a powerful motivater."

"Only when you do it?"

"You using up all of the milk to spite me is just irritating." Irene said. "Now, I'm going to see if there's any tea things in the kitchen. Last time I was here the only thing was orange juice. The kitchens can be a little strange at times."

"Kitchens?"

"Well, I don't actually need to eat whilst in the Library, but Librarians still get hungry. And the students need to eat too. And reading with a good cup of tea can never be a bad thing." Irene said. "Though coming home to soured milk multiple times is deeply unpleasant when you're half asleep and don't notice until you drink it." Both men grimaced, not due to imagining it, but because it was a situation that they had also had the misfortune of finding themselves in, and knew it to be deeply unpleasant. When she returned, with milk that was not soured, both men were buried in their chosen literature, only acknowledging her with a thank you for the tea. Irene took her own cup over to her computer where she cleared off her desk chair and sat down to finally see what had gone on.

They'd returned from Alberich's Library a few hours ago, taking time to clean themselves up, Irene had told Coppelia what was done but had yet to check for a response. The response was a demand for a more fully detailed report that Irene decided could wait, and instead chose to stare at the email her mother had sent her, urging her to let her parents know that she was alright, still alive, not hurt. She couldn't bring herself to answer for a good long time, staring at it, wondering what to say, what there was to say, what she should say, finally she just let them know that she was alive, and tired. And sent it off with a beep.

"You know, I have half a mind to refer to you as the woman." Vale remarked, and spun her chair to face him and much to her chargrine, she realised that he'd taken the opportunity to switch books whilst she'd been making the tea. "Whilst I'll admit to seeing few parallels between you and miss Adler, you do both possess the same intelligence and tenacity, I don't see much of a connection. It is where you chose your name from, is it not?" She blushed, and nodded.

"Irene is a fairly normal name for a Librarian." Kai said. "I like it. See any parallels with any of the other characters?"

"You allude to the similarities between myself and Holmes, do you not?" Kai nodded and Vale sniffed.

"I don't think that's a particularly bad thing." Irene said, turning back to finally reply to Coppelia. "Sherlock may prefer cocaine to morphine, but he's still highly intelligent, admirable."

"Maybe." Vale said, looking down at the book in hand, before shutting it on the final, illustrated, page. "I hardly see him as being worthy of admiration though, intelligence, it would appear, is not everything."


	35. Drink it away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt request from kai517-teenwriter from tumblr. Love ya 🖤  
> Contains: fluff, hang over, alcohol references

Kai's head was pounding and he slowly blinked his eyes open before groaning, it was far too bright in Vale's second bedroom. He groaned again before dragging the covers up over his head. "Good you're awake." Irene. And oh gods, she sounded annoyed.

"How drunk was I?" He muttered, still not emerging from the covers. "And can you pull the curtains? My head is killing me." Irene sighed before standing to yank them shut.

"I don't know. When I got here Vale had managed to convince you to come in here and lay down." Kai slowly pulled the covers back to blearily blink at her.

"You haven't slept."

"I spent hours looking for you." She muttered, crossing her arms. "I was worried sick Kai. You can't... You can't just dissappear like that, not after what Vale and I went through to find you in Venice. He got shot! I nearly ended up-" She exhaled, pushing away his anger. "I do not blame you for what happened. I can't. But I do blame you for dissappearing for six hours, only for Vale to find you because you got kicked out of a bar!" He flinched as she snapped at him.

"I'm sorry Irene." He said. "I didn't mean to dissappear like that. Really, I meant to come back, I just needed to clear my head. I just... I had a few drinks, and then having another drink sounded like a good idea, and another and another. And then... I don't even remember getting back here. Irene, I really am sorry." She sighed before crossing to sit on the edge of his bed and sweep his messy hair out of his eyes.

"Please don't do that again." She said. "I was worried sick. I was terrified that something had happened to you. Six hours Kai. Six hours without you was... Far too much for me to handle." Kai flung his arms around her and Irene nearly yelped as she fell back into the covers. "Kai!"

"Sorry." He didn't let go of her though, burying his face into the nape of her neck and just breathing her in. "I'm sorry Irene. I didn't mean to scare you. I just... I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Irene said, before slipping her arm around his waist and holding him to her, ignoring propriety for a few minutes. "You're safe here. I've got you." She whispered. "Just, please Kai, next time you need a drink, raid the liqour cabinet, I won't mind. Hell, I'll even drink with you." He slowly released her and let her sit up. "Go and shower. I brought you a change of clothes. You look like you need it, and a coffee."

"Thank you Irene. Really." She flicked the light on and he recoiled and hissed like a cat dashed with water.

"We can discuss the rest of your punishment once you're washed and dressed." She said, smiling sweetly.

"Of course Irene."


	36. Song fics

Secret for the mad

Irene sighed. "Kai, can you go and see about some tea being brought up?" She said, Vale was curled up on his couch, he'd pulled blankets from his room to cacoon himself in and even then, he shivered. She knelt in front of him and touched his forehead, ignoring the sweat on his skin. "Withdrawal?" She asked, he nodded. "I thought that you were going to try and ease yourself off. Not quit outright."

"It was too hard to do." He muttered. His head was pounding and he felt sick. "I just need to wait this out. I'll be fine." Irene sighed again and sat back on her heels. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"You pity me."

"I do. Yes." She said. "Of course I pity you. I would not wish this on someone that I hated. It's making you sick Vale." She stood up and looked around the room. "Do you have any more morphine here?" He shook his head. "I don't think that this is a good idea Vale, but if you want to do it, then I will not stop you."

"You really should not care for me the way that you do Irene."

"No matter what happened the other night... What happened between us, I'm doing this because I'm your friend. You made it quite clear that it was all we'd ever be." She tried to not snap, it still hurt. Still stung.

"You can do a lot better."

"Let's not talk about this, please." She said. "I don't particularly want to discuss it any more than we have." She sat down in the armchair opposite the couch. "Have the nightmares stopped?"

"No." He said. "They aren't as bad. But I still feel like I'm going mad. Like I am mad."

"I'll let you in on a little secret Vale, from one person who could be called mad to another. Its not always going to feel like that. It's not always going to hurt. It will get better. I promise." She tried to smile but she was too tired to put much happiness behind it.  
Even now, even when she knew he'd never reciprocate, that he'd never feel for her the way she did, that he would not allow himself to return the feelings, she still wished that he'd ignore that, that he'd consider her worth it. But she wasnt. Not to him.

Maybe she was mad for still feeling.  
But in a little bit of time, maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad.

* * *

 

Devil's Backbone

Could there have been a worse man to fall for? A worse Fae? He was a philandering, criminal! Not that Vale could prove anything concrete, he knew that Silver was up to something. And he couldnt find it in himself to care.

Oh Lord was Silver was unworthy of his affection, of his desire and yet Vale could not pull himself away, no matter how much he told himself that he should, that he should leave, that he should run and never look back, but he couldn't do it.

There would be a scandal if anyone found out, if his family ever found out. That in itself should have been enough to get him to leave. He didn't need to have that to deal with that as well. And yet here he was.

"A drink my dear Vale?" Silver said, offering him a glass of wine. Vale took it and put the glass to his lips. "Enjoying yourself?"

"You know parties aren't my thing."

"Maybe we should get out of here then." Silver said in a low voice. "I can think of much... Better things for us to be doing." Silver stepped in to touch his lips to Vale's jaw, clearly not caring about the people who may see them.

Lord don't take this sinner from me.

* * *

 

In all my dreams I drown

Kai had grown up around water. He was a natural in it, able to breath in the depths, able to control it. And yet in his dreams he found himself sinking fast, desperate for a breath that wouldn't come. He would wake up coughing, gasping for breath, sometimes bringing Irene rushing in on him if she was still awake.

"Maybe you should go to bed." She said to him when he yawned. "I can finish up here without you." He shook his head. "Don't make me tell you to go." She said sternly.

"Don't make me go to bed." He said. "I haven't been sleeping well. I don't want to go to sleep if I can avoid it." She frowned and he sighed. "In all my dreams, I drown Irene. I don't know why, I'm not scared of that happening but I keep having the same dream."

"Maybe it's stress." She said with a shrug. "What can I do to help you?"

"I don't know if there is anything to be done." He said, there was but he wasn't about to say it, she'd say no anyway.

"Liar." She said sharply. "What is it Kai?" He sighed and dropped his head.

"Last week when we were away, I slept really well." He said. "I think it's because you were there with me. You have a comforting presence. Maybe it helped? But I didn't dream when you were there. I don't want to ask you to sleep in my room though."

"Sleep in mine." Irene said after a long pause. She turned a little pink and looked away. "I sleep better with you there too."

* * *

Let her go 

"Strongrock... What happened?" He was always pale but Vale wasn't sure that he'd seen Kai looking quite so pale and almost sick.

"Irene got hurt." He croaked. "I had to leave. I couldn't stay. I left the Library. I don't know what to do." Vale sighed.

"Come in." He said, stepping out of the way. "You can stay here for as long as you need to, just tell me what happened. Does Winters need help? Is she in this world?" Kai shook his head.

"She's in good hands." Kai said, following Vale upstairs. "She's in a dragon Queens Court, they'll look after her, heal her. But I was not allowed to stay, I was technically trespassing."

"What happened?"

"A Librarian was being blackmailed. His daughter had been kidnapped and I'm exchange for her safe return he was tasked with locating a book. We managed to stop the situation from devolving, for a Librarian being accused of corruption, but in proving that Irene was not biased, that the Library was truly neutral I needed to leave, before she could cast me out, she'd never have done it. One of the people responsible for Blackmail killed himself and his servant would have been tried for his crimes, he decided that taking Irene out with him was the best solution. He shot her. The bullet hit her in the chest, they'd stabilised her when I had to leave, but after that, I don't know. I sent word to my father, and then came here to clear my things away and move out."

"Take my spare room until you have somewhere else to stay, if you need it." Vale said. "How long ago was this?"

"Two and a half days." He said. "I don't know what will happen now. If I'll ever see her again." He swallowed. "I love her Vale. I don't want... Not having her in my life... I don't think I could bare it."

"Does she know how you feel?" Kai shook his head.

"I didn't realise how I felt until I had to let her go." Kai whispered. "And now I'll lose her." Vale rose as he heard a cab draw up outside and he twitched the curtains back to look out as a cab rolled up and a woman stepped out and paid the driver.

"I don't think you will." Vale said as the door was opened. "That's her now." Kai got up as he heard steps and the door open. And there Irene was, staring at him with wide eyes, like she wasn't really seeing him, like she was waiting for him to vanish. She crossed the room and grabbed him into a tight hug and he slid his arms around her, holding her as tightly as she held him. He felt her arms slide around her neck and suddenly her lips were on his and his heart stuttered.

He kissed back.

How long he had waited for this! How long he had wanted her but couldn't have her, and now...

She wasn't his teacher anymore. 


	37. Lonely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt sent in by watches and windchimes on tumblr

"Can I stay with you tonight?" Irene caught his hand before he could leave the study. Vale had long since retired for the night, leaving them to talk about their new found relationship. "Not for... That." She said when he arched an eyebrow. "Never in Vale's spare... Okay, maybe. Just, I don't want to be alone right now. I don't want to go home, where its too empty." Kai stepped closer to her again and brushed hair out of her eyes before kissing her forehead.

"Of course you can." He said quietly. "I noticed that the night dress that you always borrow was still in there when I was sorting my things out. Why don't you go and get ready for bed, I want to make sure that the door and windows are all locked. Irene nodded before she slipped into the spare room. She quickly changed into the night dress, folding her clothes up neatly so that they wouldn't be too creased in the morning. Kai returned a few minutes later and checked the window in the bedroom. "Pick which ever side you want to sleep on." Kai said. "I'll be five minutes. Then we can sleep."

"And I do mean just sleep." Irene said, pulling him back to that night in the hotel room.

"Of course." He said with a nod. "I don't want to rush things." Irene smiled. "And like you said, Vale is right next door." She took the side closest to the window once he was gone, she liked to sleep as far away from the door as she could, she felt safer when she did.

Kai flipped the lights off when he returned, sliding underneath the covers. There was a second as he fumbled, reaching for her shoulder before he managed settle against her, his arm around her. Irene closed her eyes and sighed, he was warm and comfortable, she could hear the beating of his heart and it was soothing. She felt his lips brushed against her forehead and she reached out to slide her hand over his hip.

"Goodnight." She whispered, tilting her head up and struggling to find his lips in the dark. Kai kissed back.

"Goodnight." He breathed. "Sleep well 'Rene."


	38. Thumb war

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think this prompt was from kai517-teenwriter? I have a backlog to upload here so I can't remember who sent what

"One, two three, four, I declare a thumb war."

"What on earth is a thumb war." Irene and Kai looked up from their clasped hands to Vale.

"It's a childish war to settle a dispute." She said. "Personally, I prefer rock, paper, scissors, purely because it means that I don't have to touch Kai's hands."

"My hands are very clean I'll have you know." Kai said. Irene looked at his hands in hers.

"Do you get manicures?"

"No, I do it myself." He replied. "I like to make sure that they're all neatly filed and buffed, is that a sin?" Irene looked at his long, warm fingers, the nails were filed to a soft curve and buffed until they caught the light. "You pick at yours, which, frankly, disgusts me. It's better than biting, but still nasty." Irene sighed before trapping his thumb under hers and turning back to Vale.

"Anyway, it's a way of settling a dispute. Today this is about me not wanting to cook dinner, mainly because I have a new book to read and I'd rather being doing that, and I'm not that hungry."

"I don't mind cooking when it's my turn." Kai said. "Or even if Irene asks nicely, but if I cook so that she can read, she'll forget to eat, and, quite possibly, not get to sleep until she's finished it. She gets so absorbed."

"You, miss Winters, are a hypocrite."

"Oh no. I skip one meal because I'm not that hungry, I am just the worse." She said dryly, before releasing Kai's hand. "If I agree to the compromise that I will eat dinner, will you please cook, Kai?"

"Thank god for that pause." Kai said. "I don't want to be cannibalised. Yes, I'll cook."

"I don't think it's cannibalism if we aren't the same species." Irene said. Kai paused.

"We have the same genus." He said after a minute. "Though we are different higher up in the classification thingy." 

"Classification thingy?"

"Irene it's been ten years since I was last in a science class, give me that." Kai said, Irene smiled and shook her head. He pouted.

"It's called taxinomic ranking." She said as she got up to sit in her favourite armchair and pull out a heavy hardback.

"Nerd."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."


	39. Dance with me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one was probably a prompt but I don't remember. I think it was one watches and windchimes sent me? But I could be wrong.

Another invite to another one of Silver's parties, and another event that Irene wished that she could skip in favour of reading in bed. She sighed, and took a sip of her wine, red. She didn't particularly like red wine, but it was a drink. Her dress was deep teal silk, with a wide skirt and sheer sleeves. She had thought that it was beautiful in the shop window, and when she had tried it on, and when Kai looked at her with wide eyes, lips curled into a smile and eyes telling her that he wished that her dress was not on her.

"You look like you're being tortured." Kai said, she took another sip of her wine. "Some fresh air?"

"I want to be at home." She admitted before nodding. "Maybe some fresh air will do me good."

"You really don't like these things, do you?" Kai asked once they were out into the cool spring air. Irene shook her head. "How come?"

"I suppose you could say that I'm an introvert. I just get tired of all the talking and it's just so dull to me when I'd much rather be at home, home made dinner, hot bath, a good Book and my bed. That is my perfect evening. Not..." She waved a hand back toward the house. "This. Sorry if I'm not much fun. It's fine when I have something to do, a reason to talk to people, and something to talk about. But I'm much better left alone with my books. I have never been good at making friends." The confession was barely a whisper. "I don't know why you and Vale are friends with me." Kai sighed.

“Dance with me.” He said, holding his hand out to her, they were alone in the dark garden, but the music from inside was carried on the air, faint but definitely there. Irene smiled, before taking his hand. He led with the poise and grace she expected of him, turning her in circles as they waltzed. "We are friends with you because you are smart." He said, his hand was warm on her back and in her gloves hand. "You're funny." He spun her before pulling her close. "You are good."  
He was so close to her that she could feel his breath on her skin. Their steps slowed until they weren't moving and were staring into each others eyes. Irene swallowed, her heart was racing, pulse throbbing in her throat. He was so close. Close enough to kiss.

Kai moved an inch closer and Irene let her eyes half shut, she knew she should pull away, she should push him away. Say stop, or no, or anything, but she couldn't find it in herself to do that. 

"Winters! Strongrock! Are you out here?" They both jerked away from each other with a sudden gasp and clarity came rushing back to them. Irene took a few careful steps away and thanked her lucky stars that it was too dark to see the flush sweeping over her. 

"Sorry Vale." Irene called as they hurried over to him. "I needed some fresh air."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try and remember to post fics onto here as soon as I answer the prompt on tumblr because I'm getting all confused


	40. Until I fall asleep

"Stay with me... Until I fall asleep?" She smiled. Kai was looking at her, sleepily blinking, she wanted to reach out to touch his cheek and kiss his forehead. "Please?"

"Of course." She said softly. She'd returned from the Library that day and if Vale was correct, which he usually was, Kai had not slept since the train, and Irene wasn't entirely sure if being knocked out counted as sleeping. She pulled him to his feet, out of the sitting room and upstairs to his bedroom, nudging the door open. It was exactly as it had been when she was in there, conversing with Silver on the window ledge. She sat on the edge of the bed and watching as he pulled back the covers to slide under them.

After a long moment, he lay down, shifting to lay his head on her thighs. Irene sighed.She'd clenched her hands into fists, she wasn't sure why, maybe because self control was a necessity. But she carefully stretched out her fingers to run them through his hair. He sighed and she could feel him relaxing as she worked her fingers through his hair, carefully unpicking tangled and knots.

"Do you want me to be here when you wake up?" She asked. "I can stay if you want me to. If you need me too."

"You have work to do."

"It can wait." She replied. "My work is not as important as you are." For as long as Irene could remember work had been The only important thing in her life, but the statement wasn't a lie, even if it sounded odd to her ears. At some point, Kai had become so important to her that she'd risk everything for him, even if she said it was to stop a war, and the work hardly stood up to that. "I just want to make sure that you are okay."

"I will be." He said, reaching out to take her free hand. "I've got you, don't I?" He opened his eyes to look up at her and Irene begged the deities that she could name that she wasn't blushing.

"Yes, you do."


	41. Just another conquest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silver and Vale call it quits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kai517-teenwriter requested silver and Vale's messy break up, hopefully, I delivered

"Who was he?" Vale asked, crossing his arms. He wouldn't call himself the jealous or the possessive type, he knew that Silver wasn't one for monogomy and he could accept the fact that Silver would want to see other people, however he did not appreciate his partner sneaking around and seeing people behind his back without seeing if he was okay with it."At least be honest with me Silver. I know when you lie to me. I always know. I just ignore it most of the time. Not today though." Silver poured himself a drink.

"Does it really matter?" Silver said. "Vale dear-"

"No. Don't you try and pull any of that." Vale snapped. "I don't care that I'm not the only one in your life! I expect that of you. But to lie to me? To go behind my back? That I cannot forgive, and I will not forget."

"Wyndham. He's Lord Wyndham." Silver said reluctantly. Vale said.

"If I gave you a choice, me or him, what would you say?" Vale demanded. "Am I worth that to you?" Silver looked away. "Answer me!"

"Oh get off that high horse of yours." Silver sighed. "I know you are just here to use me. You want to prove I'm breaking some law or other." Vale shook his head. "Liar." He sounded tired, bored of arguing. "Would you ever chose me over your work?"

"Maybe it started that way." Vale said. "Maybe that's why I decided to get to know you. But it isn't why I stayed. I stayed because I wanted to stay for you. Not any information I could get." Vale was bad with his feelings, bad with explaining them, bad with coming up with the words to use. "I suppose that doesn't matter anymore though, does it?"

"I'd never ask you to chose." Silver said. Vale strode over to the door.

"You would never have to." Vale said sadly. "I never would have seen someone behind your back and I never would have betrayed you. But you would do all that to me without ever thinking about how I feel." He opened the door. "Don't contact me. I'm done with you."

"Please don't go Vale." Silver said, rushing to him and grabbing his wrist. He shut the door. "Stay." The words were layered in a glamour and Vale felt the urge to stay, to kiss Silver, to let him do whatever he wanted. He was disgusted. Silver was close enough to kiss him and he very nearly let him.

"Get off me." He said through gritted teeth. "I want nothing more to do with you."

"You'll regret this." Silver said quietly.

"Had you told me that you were seeing someone else as well as me I would have been alright with it. We aren't in love. This isn't... Wasn't love or whatever. You could have had both of us. But you went behind my back. You could have apologised and I would have accepted it. But then you turn around and accuse me of spying on you. Of using you when I wouldn't dream of it. You meant a lot to me Silver. It hurts to know that I was never going to mean much to you. Just another conquest." He slammed the door hard, satisfied by the loud bang it made and the silence that fell after it.

Silver did not follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a lil explanation. In this fic Silver's relationship bordered romantic, but never really got to that point. It's not a monogamous relationship, but Vale still expected Silver to tell him about other partners existing because if silver goes behind his back, that's cheating, not having another relationship


	42. Happy Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A gift for my friend, she's very fond of this ship  
> Happy Birthday. Love you🖤🖤

"Why the invite?" Vale asked, a waiter stepped forward to take his coat and hat. He sat down opposite Silver.

"I wanted to wish you happy birthday." Silver said with a shrug before he picked up the wine bottle and filled Vale's glass. "I thought we could have dinner." Vale nearly smiled, but his expression was guarded. "Don't you worry my dear lord Vale. I don't want anything from you, and there is no obligation." He picked up the glass to hold it out to Vale. "I just wanted to buy you dinner. Treat you. What's the point in my position, power or money if I can't do things for the people I believe worth it." Vale smiled at that and took the glass.

"You have good taste in wine." Vale remarked after a sip, turning the glass in his hand so that the crystal caught the light, before he set it down and reached for the menu. "You know, I don't usually do anything for my birthday." Vale said. "Not since I was young."

"Well it's a day worth celebrating in my opinion." Silver said. "I'm quite glad that you're here after all." He held his own glass out. "To you, my dear Vale." Vale picked up his glass and touched it to Silver's.

"Thank you." The waiter came and took their orders and whilst they waited, they made idle chatter about their days work.

Silver slid his foot along, under the table, until it reached Vale's. Vale nearly jumped at the sudden touch, tensing before relaxing as Silver flashed him a smile that somehow held a promise of what else was to come that evening. Perhaps it was the softness of his lips as they curled into the smile? Or maybe it was the teeth that were a little too sharp. He shivered, feeling Silver's foot slide over his and up the inside of his leg.

"Stop." Vale said, the waiter was coming back over to them with their entrée. Silver reluctantly withdrew. Sitting back in his chair and smirking, enjoying how he could make Vale react, feel, with the slightest of touches. It was as much a promise as it was to tease him.

It was dark when they left the restaurant. "Walk me home." Silver said. "Come on dear, we can take the scenic route." It was hard to find the scenic route in the city of London, it was busy and loud and polluted. But nonetheless, Silver picked a route along the river, walking close enough to him that their fingers would touch and Vale would get that shock like static everytime it happened. They stopped just west of Westminster, in the small gardens behind the houses of Parliament. Vale leant on the wall, looking out to the lights in the river. Silver watched as he leant his elbows on the wall and tilted his head. A boat went past and they could hear the waves lapping against the stones. The tide was coming in and the wake flowed out through the water.

Silver strode over to join him, he slid his hand across Vale's back as he leant close, his lips almost against his throat. Vale's eyes slid half shut as he felt Silver's breath whisper across his skin.

"Come home with me?" Silver purred before pressing his lips to the pulse point in Vale's throat, feeling it jump under his touch.

"Do you really need to ask?" Vale felt like he was drunk, even though he'd only had two glasses of wine. Each touch was like electric and he was addicted to each shock.

"I will always ask." Silver said. "I like hearing you say it." Silver put two fingers underneath his chin and turned Vale's head to be looking at him.

"Yes, I'll come home with you." Vale said. Silver smiled and then leant in, kissing him, it was a barely there, chaste brush of his lips before he pulled back. Vale very nearly growled before he grabbed Silver and kissed him hard.

"That's more like it." Silver said against his lips. "Happy birthday my dear, now, let's get out of here, there are better places to be than in the garden."


	43. Doubt comes in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from kai517-teenwriter, title from hadestown

“Do you mean it?” Irene asked. Kai stared at her.

"You doubt me?" He asked and there was a pang of hurt in his voice.

"No? Yes?" She sighed and sat down heavily, dropping her head to stare at the floor. "You love me." She looked up at him. "Me. Of all the people put there, you chose me, and that confuses me more than anything in the worlds I've visited. Everything that I've seen, and done, and heard... They all made more sense to me than hearing those three words coming out of your mouth." He knelt on the floor in front of her and frowned.

"Irene, you make it sound like you've never heard someone say it to you before. You have, haven't you?"

"My parents." She said with a nod. "Friends at school. But no one in years. And never in the romantic sense. No one has ever fallen in love with me. I thought that no one ever would."  Kai frowned. "I can count the number of relationships I've had on one hand. I've never been good with... Love. I fall for people who would never love me back. So I stopped trying to love. I gave up on the notion that someone would say it back. I've never had many friends either so I took what affection I could and told myself I was happy with that." Kai sighed and took her hands.

"Irene, I am hopelessly head over heals for you. I have been for longer than I dare say. And it's okay if you don't feel like you can say it back to me. I understand now why you may be a little nervous." She weakly smiled. She wanted to say it, she really did, but she was scared that she'd choke on the words. Or that she'd somehow curse them both and doom the relationship. "I don't want you to say it if you don't want to."

"I just can't." She said. "Not yet at least." She reached out to touch his jaw. "I feel it, I just don't have the words for it right now." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, love you all!


	44. Strength and stupidity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from kai517-teenwriter

"In every strong person, there's a touch of stupidity." Irene was barely conscious but she heard him and forced her eyes open to look at Kai.

"Oh. You're still awake."

"Who's the idiot now?" She muttered. "I wouldn't call myself strong. Or stupid for that matter."

"I'd call you both. No sense of self preservation really. More interested in doing the right thing than surviving."

"Ruthless calculas Kai. One death to save countless others? I would take it every time." She explained. "I don't think I would be able to sleep at night if I didn't chose those who need help over myself."

"You'll get yourself killed one day." "And all of the people I have saved can remember me." She said. "I say it'd be worth it."

"Be a little more selfish Irene. For my sake?"

"Sorry Kai, but I don't think I can. I'd even sacrifice myself to save you."

"Not if I sacrifice myself first." "Who's the stupid one now?"

"Still you." He said affectionately. "to be honest, it's one of the reasons why I fell for you."


	45. Breathe in

“Just breathe, okay?” Silver was staring at him, breathing heavily. Vale pinched his arm. "Pay attention Silver. You need to breathe slowly." Vale looked down, his arm was streaked with blood and he should probably deal with that at some point but adrenaline was rushing through his veins and he couldnt really feel the bullet inside of him. He could, however, see Silver and hear him struggling to breathe, hyperventilating in blind panic.

"He was going to kill me." Silver finally managed to gasp. "He... You jumped in the way. He shot you."

"I'll be fine." Vale said. "Do you know he was?" Silver shook his head.

"Maybe someone from the Iron Brotherhood?" He said. "You're bleeding. You need a doctor."

"I'll be fine." He would have shrugged but he wasn't entirely sure if he was capable of it. "it's not too bad. I've had worse." Silver sighed, dragging himself to his knees so that his face was level with Vale's. "Did he get you?"

"No. You took a bullet for me. You should have done that."

"I'll live." Silver got to his feet and Vale went to follow suit, but he staggered. Silver caught him, bring him close.

"Does this mean that I can nurse you back to health? I owe you a debt after all."

"Do you plan on dressing up as a nurse."

"If you like that kind of thing." Silver said with a wink as Vale realised that he had walked right into that one.


	46. Interruptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt request from kai517-teenwriter on tumblr

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Irene frowned before leaning to check the clock.

"I think I have a pair of glasses somewhere." She said, her voice was still thick with sleep. "You can borrow them. You clearly need them." Kai wrapped an arm around her hip, through the thin silk of her nightgown, she could feel every lingering touch and slight brush of his fingers as he pulled her close to him. 

"Waking up next to you is more than I could have ever hoped for." He said. "You are beautiful. Especially when your eyes are clouded with sleep and your hair is a wild, curly mess. When you're blushing." He ran his thumb over her lower lip and she tried her hardest to not flush red, she was failing and he chuckled.

"How do you always manage to have this effect on me?" She asked quietly. "I'm thirty seven for goodness sake, and yet, here you are, making me feel like a teenager, falling in love for the very first time. Falling in love again and again each day." He smiled. He propped himself up on his elbow, leaning over her, his other hand still on her hip. She slid her hands across his back, pulling him down to kiss him. They sunk into a kiss, and it was always like their first, needing and wanting and loving, and absolutely perfect. Kai's hand wandered and she gasped against his lips, she wasn't particularly ticklish, but the feathery touch of his fingers moving up her rib cage always sent tingle across her skin.

And then someone knocked on the door.

"Can we ignore that?" Kai asked, but he was already moving to grab his dressing gown and investigate the disturbance.

"I'd very much love to. But we both know that it's probably Vale and its only out of common curtesy that he doesn't just let himself in." Irene said, sitting up and reluctantly getting out of the nice, soft bed. "And we both know how badly that ended last time."

"Honestly, I was not expecting for you to just, pull a knife out and stab him."

"It was dark!" She said, looking for her slippers. "And technically he'd broken in. Besides, it was a slash and his hand got better." He grabbed her hips and chastely kissed her. "What was that for?"

"Being absolutely perfect. Even if you do scare me sometimes." There was another knock at the door, louder this time. Kai growled. "He has the worst timing."


	47. Simply elementary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anon request for Vale and Kai bonding

Kai's senses were sharper than Vale's, he was not about to deny that, though he had a great deal more intuition than the young dragon at his side, practically bouncing with pent up energy that made him query just how much caffeine he'd had, and whether offering him a cup of coffee as he filled him in on the case, which Kai had accepted, was a good idea. Kai had informed him that Irene would be busy all day with her own work but she'd shooed him out of the house when he started getting on her nerves because he was bored, luckily, Vale's current case provided the perfect distraction. 

Saint Paul's cathedral towered above them, with its large dome roof covered in scaffolding from current building work being done to repair it, and, sadly, it was the sight of a recent murder, a man pushed from the heights, plummeting to his death.

"Have you ever done anything like this before?" Vale asked. Kai shook his head.

"I will be honest, I'm usually on the other side of the law." Kai said. "Though I have never been caught, so technically, I didn't do anything wrong."

"That... Isn't how it works." Vale said, nearly laughing.

"Where I come from it is innocent until proven guilty. If you can't prove that I did it, I didn't do it. And if I've never been caught, how can they prove anything?"

"That's definitely not how it works." Vale chuckled, unable to help himself, shaking his head, he looked up at the cathedral. "Just because no one sees you do it, it doesn't mean you didn't do it. If a tree falls in a forest and there's no one around, does it make a sound?"

"Some theories of reality argue that if you aren't perceiving something then it does not exist." Kai said. "Or if we don't have a memory of it. So I suppose that, if there's no one to hear it fall, or see it fall, and obviously no one to remember it falling, it cannot make a sound, as it does not exist in that current reality."

"Interesting scientific beliefs where you come from." Vale said, though he was now curious about these theories on reality.

"Its more of a philosophical theory I think." Kai said. He looked around. "Where are we going?"

"I'm looking for something." Vale said, turning to sweep his eyes over the buildings. "A witness." He settled on a particular window, one that was at the right angle, with the curtains throw open wide but no interior lights switched on. "They aren't in right now, I deduce that they would have been preparing to leave at the same time the victim met his unfortunate demise, and they will be able to answer questions on the incident.

"What makes you so sure?"

"It's simply elementary." Kai decided that it was a good thing Irene was busy, she'd have keeled over upon hearing Vale say that.


	48. Merry Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anon prompt request: Kisses exchanged while one person sits on the other’s lap.

It was Christmas eve and whilst Kai had not grown up celebrating Christmas and Irene hadn't really done much for it either, they put up a small Christmas tree nonetheless, sparsely decorated with a few baubles and strings of beads. There were a couple of small gifts underneath the tree, Kai had neatly wrapped up Irene's gifts, Irene had not neatly wrapped up his. He didn't seem to mind though.

The fire was crackling, they could smell the sap on the woods as it burnt, the house smelt like pine. It was toasty warm in the sitting room, but despite this fact, Irene was curled up on Kai's lap, his arms around her as they watched the flickering flames. He was smile when she looked up at him and she cupped his cheek and pressed a soft, light kiss to his jaw.

"What was that for?" He asked, looking down at her.

"Do I need an excuse?" She asked him.

"Never." He told her. She shifted until she was practically sat on his lap. "Is this where I ask what you want for Christmas?" She laughed and shook her head. Her hair was loose for a change and the soft curls brushed his face.  
"No. This is where you look up and realise that I pinned mistletoe to the ceiling." She said. He flicked his eyes upward.

"So you did." He looked back at her. "Well, I do suppose that means that you get a kiss."

"No need to sound so disinterested." She said with a pout. He kissed her cheek. "Oh no, you are not getting away with that Kai." He laughed and kissed her properly. His arms went around her shoulders, pulling her flush to him as her lips parted against hers. Irene felt her heart skip like it always did when he kissed her like that. She groaned against his lips, she could feel his heart pounding in his chest and revelled in the way that she could make him react.

The kiss broke when breathing became vital again and she leant her forehead on his, both pink cheeked and breathing heavily. As soon as they had their breath back, she was kissing him again. And again. And again.  
Until her lips tingled and she never wanted it to stop.


	49. Pouting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt request from kai517-teenwriter: One person pouting, only to have it removed by a kiss from the other person.

"I'll be away for a week at most." Irene informed him. "Don't worry, most of the time will be spent travelling to where I'm getting the book from, and I'm buying it. I'm only being sent because it's a first edition of Hounds of Baskerville and I know what I'm talking about." Kai chuckled.

"Stay safe?" He said. She nodded.

"I will." She promised him. "One week. I will be back in just one week."

"But one week without you is far too long." He said.

"Go and irritate Vale so he'll let you help him?" She suggested. He pouted. "Oh Kai, we've been apart before you know."

"Yes. And it was bad enough, and we weren't even together at the time." Irene set her bag down, stepped forward and kissed him. "Now it's worse." He said as she pulled back.

"I'll be back before you know it." She said. He was still pouting, so she kissed him again, trying to put as much love into it as possible, it seemed to work because, this time, as she withdrew, there was a small, almost dopey smile on his lips that made her smile. "Stay safe yourself. And I love you."

"I love you too." 


	50. Come home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate ending for The Lost Plot, where Kai is not at Vale's, and a few moments in the Mortal Word when Irene does get to see him again.

“What happened?” Vale was out of his seat as soon as Irene appeared in the doorway, she looked pale and sick, her eyes were rimmed red but there were no tearstains on her cheek, like she had been fighting back the tears. “Winters… Irene?”

“Kai left.” She managed to choke. “He’s gone and I didn’t even get to say goodbye.” Vale crossed the room and whilst he wasn’t normally the kind for open displays of affection, she looked like she needed it. He pulled her into a tight hug, one arm around her hips, the other around her shoulders. She was shaking, finally allowing herself the chance to cry. “We got into trouble and in order to get me out of it, he left the Library. I don’t know where he is.”

He ran his fingers over her hair. “It’s alright Irene.” He said softly. “It will be okay.” He slowly released her and gave her his handkerchief. “Why don’t you sit down, I’ll make us some tea and you can tell me what happened.” When he came back up, Irene had kicked off her boots and curled up on the end of the couch, tucking her legs underneath her skirt, she was staring at the scars on her hand. He poured her tea, knowing how she liked it, and sat in the armchair opposite her.

“A Librarian was being blackmailed.” She said. “They held his daughter captive and said that they would kill her if he didn’t help them find a book for a Dragon queen as part of a competition.” She swallowed. “Kai was proof that the Library wasn’t neutral, and they were using that fact against us in a trial. Kai told the court that he had lied and tricked the Library, we knew but he didn’t know that we knew. He left in order to prove our neutrality, so I didn’t have to publicly tell him that he couldn’t remain with the Library.”

“You don’t know where he went after that?” Irene shook her head.

“One of the Dragons on trial killed themselves as their apology to their queen, the other one, his servant would have been punished, probably by execution, for his betrayal. He decided to try and take me out too. He shot me.” She swallowed, wiping away more tears. “Kai left when they were healing me. I believe he returned to his father, but I don’t know, and I have no way of finding out. His clothes and books are already gone.”

* * *

 

The room fell into silence after the loud gunfire stopped. The man under Irene squirmed and she pushed down harder. “This one too?” Duan Zheng asked, pointing at the man Irene held down.

“No. We need to question him first.” She insisted, realising what he meant. “This could be linked to the murder; we need to know who he works for.” She looked up and realised that Kai was stood in the doorway. She swallowed, her grip loosened for a second before she remembered herself.

“Kai, hold him. I wouldn’t wish for the Librarian to be hurt.” Kai stepped forward and it was almost electric when his hand brushed hers, she thought that he was doing it deliberately.

* * *

 

He looked as handsome as ever in fine Paris evening dress, she could feel his eyes on her as she was approached by a servant who requested her presence elsewhere. She wished that they had had more time that their brief encounter that morning. There was so much that she wanted to say to him, her heart clenched in her chest, but she pushed the thought to the side.

* * *

 

Someone knocked on her bedroom door and she turned to scowl at it before she stalked over to open it, sans slipped. “Yes?” She demanded as she yanked it open, freezing when she saw Kai, holding a covered tray, she could smell soup and bread and her stomach growled.

“I brought you dinner.” He said, holding the tray out to her. “It looked like you didn’t get to eat much earlier. Duan Zheng told me what happened. I should have been there with you.” Irene shook her head.

“No. You are here with your uncle, not with me or Vale.” She said. “Do you want to come in?” He blushed and she wasn’t sure if it was out of embarrassment for having left the way that he had done, and her snapping at him for it, or if there was something else. Or if it was maybe the cold. She was certainly feeling the cold, even stood so close, he always radiated warmth.

“It has been suggested that I try and seduce you.” He said. “I… wouldn’t want to make people talk and have you have to deal with that on top of everything else.”

“Well you may as well come in anyway. Prutkov told me to do the same.” She took the tray.

“Anyone suggesting you do such a thing demeans you.” He said, a sharp anger in his eyes for a moment.

“Not you?”

“It was just a suggestion.” He said.

“Well, I am not following orders.” She said, stepping out of the way so that he could come into the room. He took a hesitant step forward, looking down at her. “I want to talk to you. I have missed you.” She shut the door behind them. She put the tray on the small table and took a seat, uncovering it. “Thank you, I am so hungry right now. I haven’t really had the time for food today.” Kai took a seat opposite her as she started eating.

“How have you been?” He asked.

“Busy.” She said, tearing up a bread roll to dip the pieces into the soup. “Library work. And I’m moving to a new house. Found a small flat near to Vale, a bit further to the nearest library, but the house was too big and empty. I didn’t like it anymore. What have you been up to?”

“I returned to my father’s court.” He said with a small nod. “It’s been boring really, there isn’t anything for me to do there. I jumped at the opportunity to come here; I didn’t expect to see you here.” He smiled. “I am glad to see you again though.”

“You could have said goodbye.”

“I don’t think I would have been able to leave if I had seen you again and… Your heart stopped Irene, when Hu shot you. I was there. I was holding you. I couldn’t stay and watch and see if you would live or die. If I left and you didn’t make it, I could pretend that you were just in the Library because I wouldn’t know either way.”

“Schrodinger’s Irene.” She remarked and managed to make him smile and laugh.

“Exactly.” His eyes were dark, and she swore that she could drown in them. “I was a coward. I’m sorry.” Irene shook her head, mouth full of soup.

“Don’t be, you did what you had to do.” Irene said. “You saved Miranda end Everiste. Apparently, they are doing pretty well, thanks to you.” Kai looked down. “Thank you. You saved them when I couldn’t.”

“I wish I didn’t have to leave.” Kai said.

“Bitterness will not help either of us.” Irene said, putting the spoon down. “I’m happy to see you, even with the circumstances. I have really missed you Kai. It just isn’t the same with you gone. I think Vale misses you too, though he would never admit so much to either of us.”

“No he wouldn’t.” Kai said, trying to smile. “And you and him…” He trailed off meaningfully. She shook her head. “Oh, I thought that you had feelings for him.”

“I did, or I thought that I did.” She got up to shut the curtains, a breeze was coming through the window and making the thin lace flutter. “I was wrong, or I don’t anymore. I don’t know. We wouldn’t have been a good fit anyway. I think I just wanted someone when I couldn’t have the person that I wanted; selfish I know.”

“Who you wanted?” Kai asked, standing up to join her at the window.

“Well, I did keep saying that a relationship with my student would have been vastly inappropriate. I never said that I didn’t reciprocate those feelings.” Kai blinked, staring at her with wide eyes.

“Of all the things I expected you to say, that was not it.” He said. “I expected Bradamant to be higher up on the list since you do have… let us say questionable taste.” She smacked his arm and he caught her hand, pulling her close.

“I am very good at hiding my feelings.” She said. “I have to be when it comes to you.”

“Well, there is just the two of us right now.” Kai said, his voice was low and stroking and sent shivers down her spine and made her heart jump in her chest. “You don’t need to hide anything right now.” He was so close to her, she could feel his breath against her lips, brushing over her skin, there was barely an inch between them.

“I don’t think there is.” She agreed. He was still holding her hand, so she slipped the other around his shoulders. “And I suppose that it wouldn’t hurt to indulge tonight. God knows I have earnt a night off.”

“And I am sure that I can come up with plenty of excuses to visit you in the future.” He said. “I don’t want this to just be one night between us. You are too precious to me for it to be just that. If I could always be there for you, I would. Irene, you mean the world to me.” She pushed herself up onto tiptoes and closed that inch.

He released her hand so that he could cup her face, sinking into the kiss, eyes slipping shut.

* * *

 

As soon as they were all done talking Kai stole Irene away to the shadows of a tree where they were out of sight and earshot. “How do you feel?” She leant against the tree trunk, aware that it was cold and damp, but she was tired from standing up and she was surprised that she didn’t feel like she was about to collapse as soon as he had released her arm.

“Tired.” She croaked. “Sorry.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry about what happened, and for dropping a chunk of Paris on your head.” She reached out to touch the still swollen gash on his forehead, purpled with bruises, the icy cold air soothed the ache of it. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You don’t need to apologise. You did what needed to be done. I just didn’t want to admit that I had been betrayed by my own family.” Kai said, he leant his forehead against hers. “I get to be with you again. And you are not my superior now.”

“No, I am not. Maybe I shouldn’t move into that flat.” She said. “Since I will need the space now.”

“Though I suppose that it wouldn’t be appropriate to live with you.”

“I don’t know. Shorter commute time.” He chuckled. “And I suppose that if you don’t find somewhere else to live, there’s no harm in letting you stay round if it’s getting really late, or if the weathers bad, or if I don’t want to be alone.”

“You would never let me leave.”

“That would be the plan Kai.” She said. “Move back in with me, spare room or mine I don’t care. I liked coming home to someone, I have never had anyone I could see myself with like that, no one but you.” He touched her cheek; his hand was hot, and she was so cold.

“Honey I’m home.” She had to pull away from him, snorting as she tried to not laugh. She slipped and he caught her, pulling her close as he laughed too. He was strong and stable. An anchor through storms. “You don’t like that? Sweetie Pie? Darling? Sweetheart?”

“Am I…interrupting something?” Vale asked, clearing his throat before speaking. “They are all done if you want to get out of here. Strongrock, your father is escorting the Librarians to the nearest library, we are free to return to wherever we need to be.” Kai smiled and looked down at Irene.

“Let’s go home.”


	51. Annoyance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt request from @watches-and-windchimes on tumblr

“I may love you, but I will kick your ass if you tempt me to.” Vale muttered. Silver was being the intolerable, annoying, pain in the neck as he often was and honestly, if he was not so god damned attractive (and good at a myriad of activities that Vale found himself indulging in more often than he should) he probably would have kicked the man a long time ago.

"No you wouldn't." Silver said. "You love me."

"Debating whether or not I should more and more each day." Vale muttered. "It's a shame that you are just so irritating at times."

"Only at times?"

"Well, sometimes, you can be decent company. When you aren't attempting to seduce everything that moves, myself including, or when you aren't determined to be as annoying as you can possibly be. I'll admit, you have good literary tastes."

"Is that the only concession that you will give me? You like my books?" Silver asked, moving around his desk to perch on it in front of where Vale sat. He leant in close. "Just my books?" Vale lifted the glass of the whiskey he'd been given.

"Good alcohol too." He replied, smiling at the flash of annoyance in Silver's eyes. "Excellent whiskey by the way." Silver snatched the glass out of his hand and drank from it.

"I know." He said, chasing a drop of amber with the tip of his tongue as it rolled down the side of the glass. "Why do you think I offered you a glass?"

"To get me drunk so that we don't have to talk about why the police asked me to come here?"

"The other reason why I offered you a glass then." Silver said. He sighed at the look Vale fixed him in. "Alright. Fine. Ill answer your questions, but it'll cost you."

"What?"

"A kiss."

"This is just tempting me to kick you even more."


	52. Envy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt request from kai517-teenwriter

"I want to show you off a little. Make other people envious." Kai said. Irene snorted.

"Of me or you? Because I doubt anyone here envys you right now." Kai stopped and turned to Irene.

"You are the most gorgeous woman in this room and I won't hear anything else on the subject." Irene blushed a light pink. "Absolutely stunning. Who wouldn't want you to be their partner?"

"I have a list of people if you want it." She replied. "At thirty seven you end up with a lot of exes."

"On the one hand, I think they're idiots. On the other hand, thank god they broke up with you so that I can have you all to myself." Kai said. They were at a garden party. Better than Silver's 'little' soirees but still not quite Irene's cup of tea. She wore a pale green dress of flowing silk that Kai had pointed out in a shop, she hadn't noticed it but she was very glad that she had caved and let him come dress shopping with her, he did have fantastic taste after all.

Their Fae counterpart from the embassy had given them the invitations, and immediately dissappeared as soon as they had arrived, well, at least it saved from awkward small talk, and Kai's attempts to subtly flirt. Subtlelty was not a strong suit of his and they were going to get caught one day. Until then though...

"I think people envy me more than they envy you." She said. "And I quite enjoy that. Knowing that I have the most handsome man here escorting me, and that you are mine and they can keep their looks to themselves."

"Feeling possessive are we?" He asked. He quite liked her when she got like this, fiery.

"Not at all." She said a little too quickly. "I just wish that, sometimes, we can be open with our relationship. So I don't have to deal with the fact that women, and men, will trip over themselves to flirt with you."

"I hardly notice them. I'm always more interest in you Irene." He said with a smile, making her blush again. "Since I've met you, it's only been you." She stared at her feet, cheeks burning. "And god you are beautiful when you blush like that."

"Stop it." She said giving him a slight push. He chuckled. Irene took a step closer and lowered her voice. "I love you."

"And I love you too. And that is what people envy about us Irene. We're in love."


	53. Fairytale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from anon on tumblr, Irene reads sleepy Kai a story  
> I've written Kai reading Irene a story, now time for Irene to read to him

Kai was pacing the landing outside their bedrooms. Irene could hear him, she'd given up on trying to get any sleep and was instead debating getting up to try and get him to at least try and settle down. She wasn't sure if had slept the night before, they had been busy, she'd barely slept herself, the assignments that the Library were giving her as a punishment had so far been hard, painful and exhausting. And Kai still would not sleep.

She got out of bed and pulled on her dressing gown, covering up the bruises that decorated her arms. "Kai?" She opened her door and he paused.

"Sorry, am I keeping you awake? I can go downstairs." She shook her head.

"What's wrong?" She said. He sighed and leant against the wall.

"What's right?" He asked bitterly. He pressed his fingers together, his hands were shaking. "Nothing is right. I can't sleep. I can't think. Eating makes me sick. Small spaces make me panic. I-" He swallowed. "The Guantes may not have done what they set out to do, but they still won Irene. They beat me. They have broken me." She wasn't one for hugs under normal situations but the man before her was coming apart at the seams. She slid her hands around him, aware that they were probably quite cold compared to his skin. He was shaking. She anchored his body with hers, holding him and supporting him.

"I've got you." She said. "You aren't broken Kai. You've been through a lot, it's just taking you time to get better, but you will."

"I don't feel like I will." He said, pressing his face against her hair.

"You will. But step one is getting some rest." She said, releasing him and stepping backward to take a good look at him. "When was the last time you slept for more than an hour?" He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked paler than he normally did, though that may have just been the lighting in the hallway.

"How long have we been back for?"

"Kai..."

"Guantes drugged me. So then I think."

"You aren't being funny right now."

"I'm not trying to be funny." He said. "That was the last time that I slept properly. I haven't slept properly since he had drugged me." He dropped his head, leaning on the wall. "I am exhausted. But... I can't sleep." She sighed and touched his wrist.

"What can I do to help?"

"I don't know Irene." He shook his head. "I don't know what there is to do."

"I could read you a bedtime story." Irene said.  
"At this point I am willing to try anything." Kai said, Irene stared at him. "You shouldn't have offered if you aren't willing to try it."

"Alright." She said, stepping away from him and heading for the study. "Go to bed. I'm finding a book to read you."

"I was being sarcastic." He said.

"So was I to start with, so now you're getting a bed time story, now, get in bed."

"Suddenly I can think of a better way to help me to sleep." He said, arching an eyebrow.

"Have a cold shower and deal with it yourself. I'm reading you a story, and that's it." She snapped.

"I'm just joking Irene. I'll take the story." He tried to smile but Irene knew him well enough to know that it was competely forced. "Thank you for trying." She smiled back at him. She was tired but for now sleep could wait just a little while longer. She found the one copy of Grimms fairytales, a gift from Vale who thought that he was being funny, that they had on the shelves and took that back up to Kai's room. He was sat on the edge of the bed and he chuckled when she held the book up.

"How it all began." She said. "Let's see if this gets you a little more sleep." She sat on the empty side of his bed as Kai curled up underneath the covers, looking up at her with dark eyes. She nearly reached down to smooth his hair out of his eyes but she managed to hold back, last thing she wanted was for him to know her feelings.

She opened the book to the contents page and scanned it before settling on a story. "Once upon a time..." The Grimms fairytales were short, it only took her fifteen minutes to read. But Kai was still awake by the time she got to the end of Snow-white and Rose-Red. She sighed before flipping to another story. The copy that Vale had given her was in English, whilst the orgional had been in German, and this time, whilst she started to read The Seven Ravens, she chose to translate it into the original German.

This time it worked and Kai was half asleep by the time she got to the end. "Your voice is beautiful." He mumbled, barely awake. "'Specially when you're speaking 'nother language."


	54. Technically breaking the law

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt request from kai517-teenwriter

“Isn’t this illegal?” Kai asked, looking back over his shoulder as Vale picked a lock.aww

"Yes, but technically no." Kai chuckled and looked at at him.

"How is it technically not illegal?"

"If I find what I'm looking for, it will save lives and stop a spy operation. I'll get away with it. If I don't find what I need and we get caught... That won't happen." Kai wasn't sure if that meant that Vale was confident that the papers would be there, or that they wouldn't get caught. There was a click and Vale sat back on his heels with a satisfied sigh as the handle turned.

"Excellent." Kai said, stepping forward. Vale held up a hand.

"Shout if anyone's coming." He said.

"I'm keeping watch?"

"I'd rather we don't both get arrested." Vale said. "I will be five minutes at most." Kai sighed but he didn't push it. Vale shut the door behind him, leaving Kai alone on the roof.

He looked up at the sky and wished for a clearer night. He could see a slight lightness to the clouds where the moon was, but he saw no stars. He paced to the end of the room and back to the door. He was by an emergency exit on a factory rooftop. Or it would have been an emergency exit if it weren't for the fact that the door was chained shut from the outside.

It took Vale seven minutes to return, Kai was just about to go in there and drag the man out, documents or otherwise. "You're late." He said and Vale huffed before the two men quickly climbed down the fire escape and walked a few streets over to flag down a cab.

"Hopefully Winters will be back this evening." Vale said, rifling through the pages. "I can't understand a word of these. You?" Kai glanced over them.

"Not a clue." He said. He too hoped that Irene would be returning that evening. He wanted to see her again. He needed to see her again. It had been less than a month since new York. Less than a month since that kiss. She'd been kept busy with work and he'd been bored senseless, they'd managed to go out for dinner once, he'd walked her home and kissed her goodnight, but she had a lot to do the next day and so he hadn't stayed. He'd take just being able to hold her for two minutes over almost anything right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, love y'all


	55. Optometry and kisses

Kai frowned and then sighed. "They're just glasses Irene. You aren't getting tortured. Put them on." Irene wrinkled her nose, staring at the pair of glasses say on top of her paperwork pile.

"I don't like the way that they look." She said. "They don't suit me." Kai came around her desk and perched on the edge of the desk and picked her glasses up and unfolded the arms. "Besides my eyesight isn't that bad."

"Yet." Kai said. "It will get worse if you don't wear them. And it will help with your headaches." He leant toward her and slid them into place. He smiled brightly. "Absolutely beautiful Irene." She blushed. He kissed her forehead.

"You are biased."

"Yes I am." He said. "I think you are beautiful and that isn't about to change any time soon." He brushed hair out of her face.  
With Kai sat on the desk, Irene was the same height as him when she stood up and cupped her jaw before kissing him. Kai's hands settled on her hips, holding her tightly. Irene groaned into the kiss when his lips parted against hers. She could feel herself blush pink with the heat of the kiss.

"Ahem." She slowly pulled away and looked over Kai's shoulder.

"How... Long have you been stood there?" She slowly asked.

"Believe me I interrupted you two as soon as I stepped over the threshold." Vale said. Kai was blushing too.

"I should have said that he was here, shouldn't I?" Kai said slowly. "Sorry, I got a bit distracted."

"Yes you should have said that he came home with you." Irene said as she pulled away from Kai and smoothed her skirt and bodice down. She put the back of her hands to her burning cheeks. "Come in Vale."  
Kai slid off the desk and stole her office chair to sit in. She gave him a faux glower before sitting in the armchair moving a stack of books out of the way first. Vale just shook his head at the pair of them before taking a seat too.

They were over an hour into a conversation about the merits of crime fiction when Vale looked at Irene and frowned.

"Winters, when on earth did get glasses?"


	56. Poor taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anon prompt request for Kai and Irene, and Vale discussing sexuality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains: discussing sexuality, safe sex, the ickyness that is victorian condoms (seriously... Ew) and implied sex

"Vale! We've been looking all over for you... You didn't come home last night, did you?" Irene said. Vale sighed tiredly. "Where were you?"

"Is it any of your business?" He asked. Irene and Kai both glared at him and he sighed again. "Did you need me for something?"

"I left my hat here." Irene said. "I came to pick it up. What happened last night?"

"It's private." Vale said as he unlocked the front door. "Why didn't you let yourself in to collect it?"

"We did, we wouldn't have thought anything of it, had your housekeeper not told us you said you'd be back last night." Kai said. "Has something happened?" Vale paused as he undid his coat. "Vale?"

"Something... Happened." He said slowly, not sounding unsure of himself. "It's complicated."

"Can we do something to help you?" Irene said.

"I don't know." Vale said, shaking his head. "It's personal, and complicated."

"Something to do with your family?" Kai asked. Vale shook his head.

"Silver." Irene said. When Vale didn't respond, she took that as affirmative. "If you are in trouble, you can tell us, we can help you."  
"I'm not in any trouble." He said, throwing himself down into his usual chair, knocking a pile of newspapers over. "Not physically at least. My mind is highly troubled."

"You spent the night with him, and now you are feeling guilty." Irene said. Vale looked up at her sharply. "You throat has quite the bruise on it, and you clearly didn't spend the night in a vampire den." Vale's fingers strayed to his neck.

"I spent the night with him." Vale said dragging a bottle of whiskey and a glass toward him. "I have never..." He swallowed.  
"We are probably the least likely people to judge you." Irene said, she glanced at Kai. "Well, I am."

"I can put aside the fact that he is a Fae." Kai said. "You can tell us what's wrong Vale. What is on your mind about last night? You did want to spend the night, didn't you?"   
"I did." Vale said with a nod. "I had an iron talisman with me. I was willing."

"You'd never been with a man, had you?" Kai said.

"I had not been." Vale confessed. "I had never even considered it. Not until Silver. I've been with women. Had relationships and whilst none of them lasted, I know that I had feelings for them. But now I find myself with feelings for Silver." He looked up at them with furrowed brow. "What is wrong with me?"

"Absolutely nothing." Kai said, shaking his head. "Aside from poor taste in men." Irene slapped his shoulder. "But we have probably all been guilty of that." Irene nearly laughed at that one. "I've been with men and women, there isn't anything wrong with that. It's perfectly natural."

"Me too." Irene said. "There just isn't a word for it here." Vale frowned. "Well the term that I usually use doesn't exist yet, it usually comes into being in the mid to late ninteen hundreds. I personally identify as bisexual, I like both men and women and whilst I tend to have a preference, I'm still attracted to both. Kai?"

"Pansexual. I find that gender doesn't matter." He shrugged. "Bi and pan have a huge overlap, it tends to just be a preference in terminology." Vale looked a little less despairing upon hearing them talk about it.

"There are other words for varying different sexalualities. Some people like to chose themselves a nice little label to fit into. Some people don't." Irene said. "It's different for each person. And there is nothing wrong with you, or your sexuality." She smiled. "Some places have massive parties each year to celebrate it all. They're quite fun actually."

"You are the last person if expect to find at a pride festival." Kai said.

"I have a rainbow dress to wear for them." Irene said brightly. "I am quite fond of it." He laughed. Vale looked at them. "My taste in fashion aside, don't worry Vale, there's nothing wrong with being bi or pan, or gay if you prefer that."

"Well, there is the issue of no protection in this alternate." Kai said. "Be careful, Silver of all people... You don't want to catch anything."

"We have condoms in this world." Vale said.

"You do?" Kai asked in shock. "How? They're made out of latex."

"I don't know about latex, but here they're made out of sheep intestines." Vale said, both Irene and Kai looked disgusted.

"That's disgusting." Irene said. "That's filthy. Seriously? Intestines?" She looked nauseated by the prospect. "Oh god... Please don't tell me that they're reusable."

"They are."

"I think I'd rather be celibate." Kai said. "Well, at least it's safe sex, I suppose?" He said, looking up at Irene. She wrinkled her nose.  
"I guess?" She said.

"Can we not be discussing sex, please?" Vale said, somewhat awkwardly. 

"Gladly." Irene said. "As long as you are happy and it's something that you want, then there is nothing wrong."

"Even if this world doesn't see it as normal, it's them that's wrong, not you. And if you need someone to talk to, you can come to Irene or myself." Kai said, Irene nodded. "I still think that you have awful taste. That's the only thing wrong with you."

"I think that I don't want to pick a label." Vale said slowly. "Not yet at least."


	57. Silver and Vale sitting in a tree

Vale couldn't exactly remember how long he'd been kissing Silver for, but he did not want it to stop. Silver's fingers were warm on his skin, gently running across his jaw and down his throat. His pulse was racing, heart pounding hard enough for it to hurt. He groaned against Silver's lips, grasping the front of his shirt as tightly as he could.  
Silver nipped at his lip with sharp teeth, Vale pulled back. Silver watched him with hooded eyes, his pupils blown wide, only a thin ring of golf was visible. His breathing was just as ragged as Vale's own. Silver chuckled, taking note of Vale's own flush, and eyes, lips slightly swollen from kissing.

He put two fingers underneath Vale's chin and tilted his head back, leaning forward to press kisses down his throat. Vale moaned, he tried to stop himself but it slipped out. He felt Silver's lips curled into a smile against his skin. He bit down on his lip, refusing to give Silver the satisfaction of another moan.

"Silver." He breathed the Fae's name, digging his nails into his shoulders, trying to take a deep breath but the ability to do so failed him. Silver hummed against his skin before pulling away. He about to say something when Vale grabbed him close, into a rough kiss that made lips sting, catching teeth and snatching breath.

Something crashed and Vale jumped back, nearly knocking himself off the sofa in his haste to put at least two feet between them, the air cold now. Johnson stood in the doorway, tea tray now on the floor with shattered cups and tea everywhere. He stared at them with abject horror, a feeling Vale suddenly knew too. They weren't meant to get caught. By anyone.

"Johnson, out." Silver snapped. "Forget that you even came up here. Go about your business. Do not come up here until summoned. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Johnson said, and he shut the door behind him.

"Now, where were we?" Silver purred, turning back to Vale.

"I... Should go home." Vale said, forcing himself to say the words.

"Or we could go somewhere more private. With a lock on the door?"

"Or we could do that."


	58. Won't say I'm in love

"I emotion you."

"Do you want to tell me which emotion?" Kai asked with a laugh. Irene had returned from work, he hadn't seen her for a few days and she looked exhausted when she stumbled into the house and he had dragged her to the sitting room and pushed her onto the couch, before fetching her a cup of tea.

Irene shook her head before pushing a twisting lock of hair out of her eyes. She pushed herself to be sat up and picked up her cup of tea. "But I am feeling many emotions for you right now. And for the cup of tea." She took a sip. "It's very good to tea." He laughed. "Can you fetch the first aid kit? I've got a couple of scratches that I need to clean up." He sighed.

"Of course you do. This is why I don't like you going away without me." The few minutes that he took to get it gave her the chance to breath. She'd nearly told him that she loved him. She'd been so close to saying it without even thinking. And she wasn't about to ruin their careful friendship with her admitting that she had feelings for him. He returned and held up the small bag. "Do you need some help?" He asked. Irene nodded.

"Something exploded, that was not my fault before you freak out. I got a few shrapnel shards in my shoulder. They came out easily, but can you check them and clean it for me?" She asked, setting the tea cup down. Kai nodded before sitting on the edge of the sofa next to her. Irene unbuttoned enough of her dress to push it off her shoulder.

Kai winced. She was covered in bruises, with deep gouges in angry red. "They look a little swollen." He said, brushing his finger underneath a cut. He dashed a cotton swab with alcohol. "This is going to sting a bit." He felt her tense up, already expecting the sting of pain before he even touched her. When he did, she hissed. He set his free hand on her hip, rubbing small circles on the bone, through the fabric. "Relax Irene." He said softly. "You've gone tense. It'll hurt worse." She took a deep breath before forcing herself to relax, and her shoulders dropped again. "Thats better."

"Thank you." She said tiredly. She could feel the warmth that Kai radiated and it took all of her strength to not lean back against him and shut her eyes, and relax into his embrace. As it was, his hand on her hip, tracing patterns was gentle, it soothed her. "You're good at this."

"A lot of practise on cleaning myself up from all sorts of scrapes." Kai said. "And the other people that I ran with." He rifled through the box. "What I would give for some butterfly stitches for these."

"Red box." She said. Kai found it out and tipped out the contents. "I may not let you bring certain items into this world, but I have no qualms with a couple of first aid supplies." He found the right things and began to carefully apply them.

"There we go." Kai said, tossing out the cotton he'd used, and packing the first aid kit away. Irene slumped against the pillows, eyes half shut, now that she didn't have Kai supporting her. "Need me to kiss it better?" He sat down again, giving it one last glance over. Irene glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and when she did not answer, he leant in and pressed a feather light kiss to the top of the purpling bruise. He smiled against her skin as her breath caught in her throat, and he pulled away again. Irene swallowed, feeling his fingers brush against her spine as he did up the buttons of her dress for her.

"I should go to bed." She said a minute later, when she'd stopped blushing, thank god he couldn't see her face.

"You should." Kai agreed. "I'll wake you for dinner later."


	59. Quite a beating

He took a hit to his stomach, knocking the breath out of him, before someone (some awful person wearing a knuckle duster) hit him in the ribs and he heard a crunch and he knew it was his bones, not the assailants. Irene was shouting his name, but he was too distracted to look for her, to help her. He couldn't take his eyes off the people in front of him. Breathing hurt and if he took another hit like that he would go down.

Time to end this fight.

A kick to the kneecap staggered the man directly in front of him, before he drove his knee into his groin. Someone grabbed the back of his hair and yanked his head back. He turned toward them, already pulling his fist back before slamming it forward into the man's face. His smile was grim when he heard the popping of cartilage break.   
Sometimes he wondered about his own sanity.

Irene was distracted by her own troubles. It was hard to fight in long skirts and of course on the one day she decided to wear boots with a high heel was also the night that someone decided that they were the perfect targets to beat into a bloody pulp. From what she could see, they were already half way to that goal with Kai.

There was a benefit to the heels though, she thought as she drove the heel into the toes of a man who had grabbed her arm, trying to yank her back and keep her out of the fight. Kai may have the finesse of a trained fighter, but Irene fought like a corners cat, taking no quarter, with blood underneath her finger nails as she raked them over someone's face.

She was caught across the face by a vicious backhand. She staggered back, reaching for her knife in the small opening that they had unintentionally given her. A second later, she was pressing it to a man's throat.

"Call your men off." She growled. "Or I slit your throat and watch you bleed to death." The man's eye were wide, she did not need the Language to make him fear her. He shouted for them to stop and the men slowly turned. "Now get out of here. If I see you again, I will not give you a warning." She stepped away enough that he could run if he chose to, but not far away enough that she couldn't bleed him if he chose to push her. He chose to run.

Irene took a few deep breaths, watching them dissappear, before she slowly slid the knife away and she turned to Kai.   
He was staring at her in wonder and bewilderment, one hand pressed to his stomach. He swayed and she caught him. It would look really bad if her student died on her. Very embarrassing. She held him at arms length to get a good look at him. He still had his arm around his middle and she pushed it away and moved his shirt up to see what the damage was.

A boot print on spectacularly sculpted muscles. “That looks broken. You need a doctor.” She couldn't really see if his ribs were indeed broken, but with a mark like that, they were probably at the very least fractured.

"You know first aid." He was breathless. "Can't you do something?"

"I still think you should see a professional. There's a difference between me keeping you alive long enough for a doctor to fix you up, and going straight to a doctor. Less risk for you, less stress for me." She said, tugging his shirt back down and into place. "Lean on me if you need to, let's get out of here, and get you somewhere safe."

"It my be the punch I took to the head talking, but seeing you pull that knife on him has got to be the hottest thing I have ever seen." Kai remarked. Irene blushed. "I think it's the head injury."

"Normally you wouldn't think that?"

"Normally I'd think enough to know to not say it aloud."


	60. Drinking buddy

"Guess what he did today." Li Ming said, pulling off his coat as Irene found the corkscrew.

"Please tell me that he punched a werewolf." She replied, finding it and grabbing the first bottle of red wine off the side, checking the label first. "Is Merlot okay? I have white wine too."

"No, that's good." He said, sitting down. "And spot on. I left him with mister Vale since they can't get into any more trouble than punching a werewolf in the face." She poured two glasses and gave him one before taking her seat and tucking her legs underneath her skirt, reclining against the pillows.

"You tempt fate with those words." She said before taking a sip, savouring the warmth the wine left in her mouth. "They'll burn the city to the ground if left unsupervised for long enough." Li Ming set his glass on a coaster and undid the buttons of his waistcoat and loosened his tie knot. He looked tired.

"You say that but sometimes I do doubt if the Prince knows how to use a match." He said, picking his glass up again. He toasted to her. "Thank you for keeping him alive this long." She raised her glass too.

"Believe me, he's made me wonder why I'm trying so hard sometimes. Kai is quite dear to me, yet he does appear to have a death wish, or no sense of self preservation." She frowned. She probably shouldn't let Li Ming know quite how much Kai meant to her, but she was not exactly subtle at the best of times and it was probably obvious. Kai certainly wasn't subtle, openly flirting in front of the other dragon. His family would probably hear all about it, but without evidence, he wouldn't be taken from her soon. Not that he was hers. Just her student. And she trusted Li Ming to not go to one of the dragon Kings with conjecture, only if he had concrete evidence, and there was no relationship, in that sense, to gather evidence on.

"I believe its the lack of self preservation." Li Ming said with a nod. "He thinks he's invincible, much to his father's chargrine, there's always been someone around to save him. And whilst that is a good thing, I do sometimes wonder if any of it has had any lasting consequences."

"He's a little more careful." Irene said and Li Ming smiled. "He checked for my approval before running into a fight the other day. I'm not sure that he would have listened if I said no, but it is a start, I suppose." She topped her glass up and leant over to top his up too. "But I think you're right. He knows that he usually comes out of a fight on top, and if not, there's someone to help. Though, in all honesty, I'd rather be there to help than let him get hurt again." Li Ming nodded. Venice had left both her and Kai with night terrors and from the looks of things, Vale wasn't sleeping too well either.

"True, he'll never be alone." Li Ming said. "He endears himself to a lot of people, who will always look out for him. It's one of his better qualities. In my opinion."

"It really is." Irene said with a smile.

When Kai got home the wine bottle and glasses were practically empty, Li Ming and Irene, animatedly discussing literature, looked up when they heard him.

"Oh is there any of that left?" He asked, nodding toward the bottle. Irene picked it up and poured the remainder of it (less than an inch) into her glass and drank it.

"Not anymore."


	61. The cat burglar

"This story has the prequisite ...Im bisexual." Irene said, Kai nodded.

"That much was obvious." He said.

"Okay, sometimes you get people who do not like that fact." She said. "And this story is over ten years old, when I was a student."

"You look good for someone in their... You know what, I actually cannot tell." Irene laughed, shaking her head as she got up and filled two glasses with whiskey. They were sat surrounded by cardboard boxes and stacked up books, still in the process of moving in.

"Let us go with mid thirties." She said. "And leave it at that." She passed him the glass and sat down, propping her feet up on a still packed box. "I was twenty-one? Oh, maybe it's closer to twenty years ago. I do not like that realisation one bit." He chuckled. "It doesn't matter. I had just started my own field training. I left school at eighteen and came straight into the Library to behind training. And Bradamant offered me the chance to come on an assignment with her, and I agreed." She took a sip if her drink and lay her head back against the couch cushions.

"Bradamant comes up a plan, I'll simply go and ask for the book! How could it go wrong?"

"How did it go wrong?" Kai asked.

"She was showing me around, and Bradamant broke in, and stole the book." She frowned, looking down. "The woman blamed me. She accused me of stealing it, she was going to kill me. And... I did what I thought was needed to get out of there." She finished her drink and got up to refill her glass. Kai realised that he hadn't had any of his own drink and took a sip.

"But when I tried explaining this, no one listened to me." She said bitterly. "And Bradamant quite happily spread it around that, instead of doing any work, I just... Slept with her." She sat down again. "And completely ruined my reputation when I said that I had no want to work with her again. And people still think that Bradamant was the one telling the truth." She pulled her legs close, tucking them away underneath her skirt and laying her head back. 

"You are a lot more mature than I am." Kai said, she arched a brow. "I would have hit her." He settled his arm on the back of the sofa and his fingers brushed across her hair. She smiled softly. "And if it makes you feel any better, I'd have done the same thing."

"She was a lesbian Kai. No you wouldn't have done." He snorted, trying to not laugh and failing as he bowed his head close to hers.

"Alright, well if it were someone interested in men, then I'd have done the same thing." He said. "You've come far for someone who had their reputation ruined. I'm impressed."

"Hard work, perseverance and no friends." She said. "And you get where you need to be, eventually."

"You have friends." Kai said. "You've got me. So I suppose that's a friend. But it's more than zero."


	62. Come to bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Squishy Silvale?

“I wouldn’t change a thing about you.” Silver said and Vale looked over at him. He'd been stood, looking out of the window, some might say that he had been brooding. Silver was laying on his side on his bed, he was propped up on his elbow with his shirt partially unbuttoned. "You know that, right?" Vale sniffed.

"I'm not like you or yours." Vale said with a shrug. "I reject me family's ways, my ancestors would probably be disgusted with me. How are you not want to change me?" Silver got out of the bed and caught Vale by the shoulders.

"What do you think makes you so utterly... Brilliant. You don't care what anyone thinks of you, what was expected of you." Silver leant in and kissed him lightly. "I don't care what the others, what my kind, think of you. Come to bed. Stop fretting about gossip."

"They'll be more gossip if I get caught leaving here tomorrow." Vale said, shaking his head.

"Then stay for... However long you want." Silver said. "Come to bed love." He took Vale's hands, Silver had the hands of a musician, slended fingers, hands untouched by callous or soft. They were soft as the glided over his skin. Vale brought his hands to his mouth and pressed his lips to his knuckles in a gentle kiss. Silver smiled.

"Bed then." He said.

"I love you." Silver said. Vale swallowed and opened his mouth. "I know, you will say it when you are ready."


	63. Pot noodle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pretty much just wrote this because I was super hungry and made myself some super noodles. Not pot noodle but equally disgusting

"Are you eating a pot noodle?" Kai asked, furrowing his brows. "Seriously Irene? Those things are awful." Irene swallowed the mouthful of noodles that she had just shoveled into her mouth, and nodded.

"I'm hungry okay?" She said, grabbing a forkful of more noodles. "Want some?" She offered him the pot and he stared at it for a moment.

"Sure. Forks?"

"Top drawer on the left." She said and he found himself one. She was sat on the counter top and Kai climbed up to sit with her, she held the pot between them and he took some. "It's meant to be chow mein flavour, I feel like I owe you an apology." Kai swallowed his forkful.

"I'm cooking you a proper chow mein when I get the time. This is... Well its edible." She laughed. "Surprisingly satisfying though." He took some more. "And it's probably awful for us." Irene laughed.

"After what we just lived through we can eat unhealthily." She said.

"You took Vale home?" He asked and she nodded, they'd gone whilst Kai was getting some rest, she walked him to the door to his world and helped break him out of the British library before returning. "What do they want us to do here?"

"I don't have a clue." She said with a sigh before leaning her head on his shoulder. "Not much I hope. I'm tired." Kai wrapped his arm around her, hand settling on her hip with a light touch. She looked at the pot. "I may have to make another one of these. I haven't eaten since... Poland? Did we get anything to eat in Russia? I don't remember."

"You should probably eat something I lot healthier than two pot noodles." Kai said.

"Pretty much the only food you can find in a Librarian's kitchen is food that lasts." She said. "I think I have soup? And sugar, tea, coffee and... Maybe flour? Not that you can make anything good with that."

"Yes you can." Kai said, jumping off the counter and taking the pot noodle from her. "Pans?"

"By the sink."

"Great, I will be... Twenty minutes." He said with a smile. "It's no... Pot noodle chow mein but it will be a meal." He swept her off the counter and she landed on the floor, Irene laughed in spite of herself. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her face into the crook of his neck. He reciprocated the tight embrace. "Go and lay down. I'll get you when I'm done." Irene slowly released him and took a small step back, smiling for the first time since the whole hellish couple of days started, the first time that he'd seen at least. He put his hand on her jaw.

Irene's breath caught in her throat and for a moment, she thought that he was about to kiss her. He did, but not on the lips, even if it was obvious that both of them wanted it. He instead kissed her forehead, pressing his lips to her skin. She could feel a blush spread across her skin and she tried to suppress it. She was probably failing.

"Thank you." She murmured. Kai smiled.

"It's nothing. Go and rest. I won't be too long."

Kai woke her twenty five minutes later, pulling her back into the kitchen and pushing her into her seat. "You have a little bit of oil in so I made a couple of flatbreads to go with the soup. It's not much, but it's considerably better than instant noodles and all of the salt in them. And if you eat something too heavy, you'll make yourself sick." Irene shrugged before picking up her spoon.

"Thank you." She said softly. "This means... A lot to me." Kai smiled.

"When will it get through to you that I will do anything for you?"


	64. Bedtime

“Isn’t it your bedtime?” Vale said when Irene yawned. She looked up from his work, he was 'ordering' his papers. 

 “Hypocrite.” She replied, her coffee cup was empty and she wished that it was not. She'd have to go and make some more. Or if she could convince Vale to make her some more before he went to bed. 

“Come to bed with me then.” He said, straightening up a stack of pages that almost immediately fell over again. "Finish that off in the morning." Irene looked down.

"I'm nearly finished." She said. "I want to get this done tonight."

"It's technically morning." She looked up to fix him in a glare and Vale chuckled when she yawned. "Come to bed. Kai went to sleep hours ago. Let's join him." He held his hand up to offer her a hand. When Irene reached for her pen again, he stepped forward and very easily picked her up out of the chair.

"Vale!" Irene yelped, grabbing for her papers and pen and holding them tightly to her chest as he scooped her up, holding her carefully in his arms. "Vale." She hissed his name this time. "Let me finish my work. Put me down."

"Careful, you will wake Kai." He chided, making no moves to put her down.

"Too late." Kai said, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Irene wants to stay up another hour working. But I think we both know know an hour will turn to two, and then until six in the morning." Vale said, he was still not putting her down again. He was warm, and Irene leant her head on his arm. Okay, maybe she was a little sleepy, she could have fallen asleep like this if left for long enough.

"Hypocrite." She complained again. Kai eased the pen and paper out of her fingers. She sighed. "Fine. I'll come to bed with you. Put me down? Please?" Vale slowly lowered her to the floor again and kept am arm loosely around her hips. She leant against him.

"Maybe, I'm a little tired." Kai grabbed her hand and tugged her toward their bedroom, Irene was glad that she was already in her nightdress, because as soon as she had to walk, she felt her energy leave her, and by the time that all three of them were comfortable and content in the bed, her eyes were shut, and a moment later, she was asleep, her head on Vale's chest, warmed by both blankets and Kai's hold on her.

It was a good way to fall asleep. 


	65. Rainy day

"This is a stupid plan Irene." Kai said, in a low voice, he glanced to the window, grey skies. Excellent. "You are going to get yourself hurt."  
"I've done assignments like this multiple times." Irene said. "I will be just fine."

"But it's raining!" Kai said, looking at the window. Irene straightened up and sighed as she realised that he was right, rain was beginning to trickle down the window panes. Irene looked back down at the building plans.

"Well, then I will just have to get wet." She said. "I can look after myself." The rain grew heavier and Irene looked a little uneasy at the sound of it slapping against the window, she was fairly certain that it was Kai's doing, but it had looked like it was going to rain anyway, so she couldn't be too sure. "Stay here, please Kai, don't follow me."

She pulled her coat on over her shirt, tucked into trousers. It wasn't the normal dress of a woman in Vale's world, but breaking and entering was a bit of a nuisance in floor length skirts. She wore leather boots, so hopefully, her feet wouldn't get too wet. Wet socks was on the list of Irene's least favourite things. She'd brought the trousers and shirt through from her packed wardrobe in the Library, it was quite hard to find clothes in there since she owned so much from dozens of different worlds in dozens of different styles. Her shoes were a little more organised since the styles didn't change as much, she usually wore boots no matter the world that she was in. It was hard to go wrong with boots. She did up the buttons for her coat and tucked her scarf underneath the heavy and thick fabric.

Her hair was in a bun, which made it easy for her to pull her hood up before slinging her leather satchel over her shoulder.  
"Stay here." She repeated, looking for her gloves in her bag. "I should be two, three hours at most." Kai looked pained. "I will be fine." He opened his mouth to protest, and Irene glared at him until he shut it again.

"Alright." He said in a low, hushed voice, barely audible over the foul weather. "What do I do if you don't return?"

"Vale will hear if I get myself arrested." His eyes widened. "If not, I'm sure he'll help you check the morgues."

"Irene!"

"I'm just joking." She said, touching his shoulder. "I will be back before you know it. There's work on my desk that you can look through to get yourself busy." Kai groaned and she gave him and almost cheeky grin. "Have fun."

She stepped out into the rain and nearly swore as she realised that it was bitterly cold, chilling her to her bones. She could feel the heavy rain as it drummed her shoulders and the top of her head. It did its best to make its way into her boots and down her neck, a few beads of icy rain hitting her face and running down her jaw before dripping onto her scarf.

##

Irene's throat felt rough and raw, like she'd tried to eat iron wool. She sniffed, feeling her sinuses dully throb and ache, she reached for her handkerchief and sneezed four times in quick succession before she groaned and pulled her covers up over her head and buried her face back into her pillows, wishing to be able to get to sleep, but she felt like death warmed up. Or like she had the flu. The two things felt very similar.

She heard her door creak open and Kai flicked the lights on. "How do you feel?" He asked, the bed dipping as he sat on the edge of the empty half. "I could hear you coughing and sneezing all night long."

"I feel like hell." She croaked. "Go 'way."  
"I'll make you some tea." He said softly. Irene shoved the covers off and sat up to look at him. She squinted.

"Were the lights always this bright?" Kai nodded. "It's awful. Tell me, did you start that rain storm to try and convince me to stay at home?" Kai reluctantly nodded and she glowered at him. It would have been a little more threatening if she didn't have awful bed head, and her skin wasn't flushed with fever, and her nose red from blowing it. "You better make me the best damned cup of tea to have ever been made."

The cup of tea he returned with tasted awful, though, to Kai's credit, it was likely because her nose was blocked up. It did help to soothe her throat though. "Thank you." She said as she set it down. Kai leant forward to cup her face with long fingers and she had to fight the resist to pull away from him. His hands were normally hot, but they felt like they were burning on her skin! At least his fingers were soft, she had to give him that as he dragged them over her skin before holding the back of his hand to her forehead. He pursed his lips.

"You've got a bit of a fever. I'm going to get you a cool cloth. It's probably best that you go back to sleep and I will see what this world can do in terms of medication." She finished the rest of her tea and when he came back, she let him tuck her in (an unnecessary but nice gesture, she was tempted to ask if he a stuffed animal for her to cuddle) and drape the damp cloth over her forehead. She sighed. It felt nice and cold compared to the touch of his hands.  
She was fast asleep when he returned from the pharmacy and shops with some weak painkillers, honey, lemon and some bits and pieces to make soup for dinner. He dampened the cloth again and Irene shifted to press her face against his hand, still asleep, she smiled when he brushed his thumb across her cheek.

She'd bundled herself up in her duvets, he wasn't sure if that was deliberate or unconscious, but either way, he pulled those off her, and replaced them with a lighter blanket, she'd just end up feel worse underneath heavy covers. He left the duvet on the empty side of the bed, he grabbed the empty tea cup and the still damp clothes from last night and carried them downstairs.

He may have been raised in a Palace, but he was no stranger to housework and chores, his father had said that in order to raise a just and kind ruler, one must learn what others without their power and money and servants had to do, he had a job as a teenager, learnt to cook for himself, did his own laundry and kept his room tidy. He didn't even mind doing it, unlike some of his brothers who complained about it all the time.

He tossed Irene's clothes into the hamper that she'd put in the kitchen with the intention of doing it that day, he didn't do her laundry, though he did hang the wet clothes up so they couldn't make the house smell of mildew. Irene would probably be grateful that she didn't have to do the washing, less grateful that he would have washed her underthings.

He did the washing up, and his own laundry, before he heard Irene stirring and he grabbed the paper bag from the kitchen table and jogged up the stairs. She was out of bed and tying up her dressing gown when he knocked on the door and she called him in. He tossed the bag onto the bed.

"Apparently those should help." He said. She picked up the bag to investigate the contents. "Something for your headache." She hadn't mentioned that but he'd known her for long enough to know that they were a common nuisance for her. "And something to help bring down your fever. And I have honey and lemon downstairs, which should help your throat. And the stuff to make soup." Irene gave him a smile.

"I would hug you, but I'm sick." She said. Irene wasn't normally one for hugs and Kai assumed that it was just a sign of weakness from the illness currently sweeping her body. "And two, I'm still mad that you started that rain."

"I have a very strong immune system." Kai said, wrapping his arms around her. "And I'm sorry. I was worried that you would get yourself hurt. I should have trusted you."


	66. How not to woo a woman

"Did it hurt when you fell?" Kai asked, leaning on the back of Irene's desk chair. She put her pen down and looked up at him.

"From heaven? Really Kai? I have heard that one so many times it isn't even funny." She said tiredly. Normally she tolerated the flirting, even found it funny even if it was a little annoying at times, but pick up lines was a step too far.

"I just watched you trip up. Are you alright?"

#

"Are you a thief because-"

"Yes. Yes I am." She said, shutting him down as she undid the latches on the case and slid out a book. "I've heard that before too."

"You are no fun."

"And you are distracting me mid theft. Could we try and keep it professional?"

#

"I am no photographer," Kai said, holding a mobile phone in one hand. "But I can picture us together."

"I'm not taking a selfie with you." 

#

"Even if there was no gravity, I'd still fall for you." Irene looked down at Kai, laying on the sitting room floor.

"What did you trip over?" She asked with a sigh, she was very tempted to kick him whilst he was down. Just a light kick in the side of the ribs. He would have deserved it because she'd nearly tripped over him.

"Carpet." He said. "It is surprisinglycomfortable down here. Minus the inevitable carpet burn on my back." She offered him a hand up. "If I say please will you kiss it better?" He'd grabbed her hand but she released him, he fell back down again with a thud and quiet "ow."

#

She was sat up to a computer in the Library, Kai on the floor behind her. "Are you Google?" He said, her fingers stilled on the keyboard. "Because you have everything I'm looking for." She threw the nearest pen at him. He ducked and it hit the wall. The second one she threw hit his shoulder.

#

"Do we have any antiseptic in?" Kai asked, knocking on the study door to get Irene's attention.

"What did you do this time?" She asked with a sigh, not looking up. "And do you need bail money?"

"I scraped my knee, falling for you." She grabbed the letter opener from her desk and he dashed up the stairs.

#

"This is really soft." Irene said as Kai carefully draped his jacket around her shoulders. "Completely unnecessary though. It's just a little rain. I'll be fine."

"It is soft. Do you know what it's made out of?" Irene shook her head, running her fingers over the collar. "Boyfriend material." Irene groaned. "No?"

"When are you going to give up Kai?" She asked, shaking her head. "They are really bad. Most of these lines haven't even been that funny."

#

"Are you a taser? Because-" Irene clapped her hand over his mouth before he could finish.

"One more of those Kai and I swear to god, you'll be missing your tongue." She said. "Nod if you understand." He nodded and she removed her hand from his mouth.

#

“Roses are red, violets are blue- ow. Fuck you!” It may not have been cutting his tongue out, but she had pinched him, hard enough for it to bruise. "Irene, that hurt!"

"Then zip it. I'm trying to work!"

"So am I. Work my way into your heart!" She pinched him again. Two bruises. "Gah, okay, I get it, I get it. You cannot be wooed by something as simple as a pick up line, even if you have to admit that they are funny."

"No. No I do not. Now, shut up, or go away. And if you swear at me again, I'll do worse."


	67. Bleeding out

“It’s so cold.” There was just... So much blood, dropping and oozing from a gash from her navel to hip bone and whilst Kai was using his jacket to apply pressure, his jacket was becoming sodden, stained red. The coppery tang of blood was heavy on the air and he could feel his stomach clench with barely controlled nausea. 

“You need to hold on a bit longer, you are going to be fine. Just stay awake a little longer.”  He said, he looked up at her face, her nose was bleeding. Irene's skin was ashen, except for the scarlet streaked over pale and grey mottled skin. Her eyes were half shut and her lips parted slightly as she took shaky breaths, chest rising and falling in uneven hitches. Her eyelashes fluttered.

"Kai?" Her voice was quiet and breathy. He needed to find the nearest library, if he could get Irene there before she passed out... If he could just get her there, she wouldn't die. But he didn't know where one was, not one near enough at least. "Kai look at me." He was staring at the blood, watching as it seeped through fabric. He was taking shallow breaths, he felt on the edge, a millimeter away from falling into a panic, not sure on what he could do to save her.

He felt her fingers, deathly cold, brush against his hand, and he snapped his hands to them, and then, finally, up to her face. She tried to smile but she couldn't do it.

"It'll be alright." She whispered. "I promise, you will be alright without me. You'll get another teacher. You'll make a great Librarian some day Kai." Her eyes slid shut, but she managed to force them open again a second later. "I need you t-" She winced. "I need you to pass a message to my parents. Please."

"You can tell them yourself." He said. "You aren't allowed to die on me Irene, we've gone through too much to lose you now. I refuse to. I won't. I... Can't."

"Just in case." She whispered. He swallowed, his eyes were glittering red, or maybe Irene's eyes were swimming with tears yet to shed. "Tell them I loved them, with all my heart." She gasped. "And that I'm sorry for every stupid we ever had. They mean the worlds to me, and I regret every time I ever shouted at them, or said something awful." A burning hot tear, a contrast to the icy cold that was sweeping her until she was an icicle, slid down her cheek. "Promise me, Kai?"

"I promise." He said. "I'll let them know. If..." Her eyes shut. "Irene!" He shook her a little. "Irene, please! Open your eyes!"

Her world when black and cold and everything felt fuzzy and so far away, and the last thing she remembered was a dragon roar.

And then... She woke up?

Irene had thought that, when she shut her eyes, she would never wake up again. That it was the end and she was going to die. But suddenly, her eyes were open, and the lights hurt her eyes, but at least the bed was very soft, with feather pillows.

"Where am I?" She didn't dare move, her side was in agony and it'd only get worse. She moved her head to look around, Kai was by the bed and she smiled, he'd dozed off whilst waiting for her to wake.

"You're safe." She turned to look the other way, Coppelia sat by the other side of the bed, she slid her bookmark between yellowed pages and set it down. "Kai managed to bring you to the nearest Library, I don't suppose you remember that part, do you?"

"No. I remember... I told him to pass a message on to my parents if I don't make it. And then I woke up here."

"You were dipping in and out of consciousness according to him, but he managed to keep you alive and awake for long enough, for you to get the door open." Coppelia's joints creaked as she shifted in her seat. "You were on the verge of passing beyond the point even our most skilled healers could bring you back from. As it was, you required stitches and a blood transfusion, and when you return to your world, you'll need to be on bed rest for some time, at the very least until you're healed enough to remove the stitches."

"How many?" Irene asked.

"Thirteen. The cut was quite deep and did a small bit of damage to your small intestines, though they repaired that." Kai muttered something in his sleep and Irene looked at him, he was waking up. "I'll leave him to explain the rest."

"Kai?" Irene said softly, once Coppelia was gone. His eyes flickered open for a second and she got a glimpse of saphire eyes. "Wake up." She carefully reached out to take his hand and squeezed it. He slowly blinked his eyes open, disorientated for a moment before he focused on her, and his eyes lit up, and he smiled brightly. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes." 


	68. Bradamant

"You may technically be an adult, but you’re still my child." Ray stared at her mother before she took a deep breath and pushed back her anger in order to be capable of calm and rational argument. "You should listen to your mother."

"No." Ray said quietly. "I don't have to if I don't want to. Like you said. I am an adult, and it's my turn to make my own decisions in life." Her mother looked a little surprised, that Irene would disagree with her so openly. "I don't live here anymore. I have my own patron, my own tasks and studies and work. I don't have to do a single thing that you tell me to do."

"She has a reputation." Raziel tried to argue. "And not a good one. You will regret working with someone like Bradamant." Ray shook her head.

"I'll regret saying no more, I want to go out into the field, I'm ready. I'm not scared." She said, sounding as firm as she were capable of.

"Its not the fear I worry about." Raziel said. "Your willingness to do anything worries me, there is a line, you have to decide where it is, and when you will cross it, and I worry that you will cross it before you know what it means to do that, that Bradamant will make you cross it, and you won't be able to take it back. "

" Mother, you worry about me too much. I'm not your little girl anymore."

"I do wish you hadn't grown up so fast." Raziel sighed. "You'll be careful, won't you?"

"Of course I will." Ray said. "You'll see me again before you know it." She smiled. "I'll be a fully fledged Librarian, like you and father. Besides, I learnt from watching you two, I'll be fine."

"That does nothing to ease this." Raziel said, grabbing her daughter by the shoulders. "Stay out of trouble, keep your head down, and if someone tells you to do something that you don't want to do, tell them no, it won't be worth the regret. Promise me that."

"I promise." She said. 


	69. Poisoned

"I don't... I don't feel good." Silver muttered, he swayed, and dropped to the ground in dead faint. Vale managed to catch his head before he could strike it off the floor and cause more damage than... Whatever it was. He looked at the glass Silver had drunk from, and his still full one that he had not touched. He swept Silver up into his arms and lay him on the couch, tucking the pillow underneath his head.

"Send for the doctor." He said, all but running down the stairs to grab Johnson's arm. "Silver collapsed." Johnson pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded. He  raced back upstairs.

The first step was to ensure that Silver had a pulse. He did, he looked peaceful in his unconscious state, like he'd simply fall into a deep sleep. At least he didn't seem to be in pain and his pulse was steady and strong.  
Step two, the crime scene. He saw nothing on Silver's glass, holding it up to the light, other than the prints of Silver's own fingers. The obvious conclusion was that the poison had not been added to the drink. He grabbed the whiskey bottle, poured straight from that, not a decanter, and Vale had watched him open the bottle. It was new.

"Thirty year taliska." Silver had said, showing him the bottle. "An excellent drink. Join me." Had Silver intended to poison him and had only given him the wrong glass? Unlikely, Silver wouldn't be so sloppy. If Silver wanted him dead, he'd be dead. Which meant that... Well, he could still be the target but Silver had nearly thirty liqour bottles, there was no guarantee that he'd have a drink from that bottle, so Silver was the probably target.  
Step three, how did the poisoner get it into the bottle? He picked up the lid, a Cork, carrying it over to the light to examine it under close scrutiny, pulling a magnifying glass out of his pocket.

Aha

A small, barely noticable, prick in the centre. A needle had been used to deliver the drug, a syringe, carefully pressed into weak cork before releasing... Something. Possibly a sedative, or maybe a paralytic?  
Step three, suspects. Who could get into this room? He needed to speak with Johnson and the housekeeper. And any other staff he could get his hands on. But could he leave Silver?

Step three became find the room key. It was Silver's private study, and had only two keys, Silver's and Johnson's, it also had a very complicated system of tumblers, he knew that from his own attempts to gain entry under considerably more dubious circumstances that drinks. The key was in Silver's jacket, in the inner pocket. Vale quickly put it into his own pocket, content that once he locked the door, the room would be secure.

He swept a single strand of hair away from Silver's face, before he sighed and knelt down. He touched Silver's jaw before he leant down and pressed a soft kiss to the man's lips. "I'll be back soon." 

Silver didn't twitch.


	70. Library

"Close your eyes." Kai said. They were stood in front of large doors of dark wood, inlaid with patterns in bronze and copper, shaped like twisting vines and ivy. Irene looked at him and sighed, before complying. His hand had been warm on hers but he released it to open the doors for them, they opened with a slight creak. He took her hand again and tugged her forward a few steps.

"Can I open them yet?" She could feel sunlight on her skin, but they weren't outside. She stumbled, unable to see and feeling a little out of sorts as the lack of sight messed with her inner ear. 

"Not yet." He grasped her shoulders and turned her so that her back was to the sun, she could feel it, warm on her back. "Okay, now you can." She slowly opened her eyes, blinking slowly as they adjusted to the brilliant light that streamed in through the massive windows on one side. The other side was books. Row upon row of brilliant, beautiful books! She smiled as her eyes flitted from one shelf to the next.

There were two levels, spiral staircases of bronze were at the far sides of the room and anothet two framed the door that they'd just come through, leading up to the second floor. The second floor, more of half of a floor, had railings so you could see down to the first. There were chairs and sofas dotted around, comfortable reading nooks hidden behind cases.

A few of the cases had doors or what appeared to be quartz. "Can I..." She trailed off, looking up at Kai. He laughed.

"I didn't bring you here to look at them." He said, waving her toward the shelves. She all but ran to the nearest closed bookcase.

"Quartz." She'd seen shelves like them before, in The Library. "To protect the rarer books?" He nodded and she carefully opened it to peak inside. Scrolls lay in neat lines. The quartz filtered out the bright light, to reduce the damage that the uv could cause.

"The windows are specially designed, there's electricity running through them, they'll get darker if the sun gets too bright." Kai said.

"Clever." Irene moved onto the next bookcase, gliding fingers over the spines. "It's beautiful in here."

"I thought you would like it." Kai said, smiling at her. She had her back to him as she flitted from one shelf to the next. She turned to him with a bright smile. With the setting sun lighting her face, and her eyes sparked with happiness, he could have sworn he'd never seen anything else quite as beautiful.


	71. Chased

"Nothing could go wrong, you said. Well guess what? Everything has gone wrong!" Irene just huffed and focused more on running than the angry dragon. He may have longer legs than she did, but she was managing to keep up with him, matching his pace. There was a clamour behind them, shouts and clattering feet. "Do you have any useful ideas?"

"Lose them." Irene said, breathing a little heavy. Kai just glared at her before he grabbed her hand in a tight grip and pulled her into a narrow alley way. They couldn't run side by side so he pushed her ahead of him and they kept running, Irene choosing twists and turns at random until she was sure that she could no longer hear anyone behind them, she slowed to a walk to make sure, and when she decided that they had lost them, she stopped and leant against the wall to catch her breath. Kai leant opposite her.

"So the plan didn't go according to... Plan." She said slowly, Kai flicked his eyes heavenward in a silent plea for patience to whatever deity it was that he prayed to, Irene wasn't sure if he was religious, but he did have that little shrine in his room so she presumed he was part of some religion. "But we did get the book." She slipped it out of her bag to look at the battered cover.

"Now to get back to the Library with it and not get killed along the way." He said. "Or captured. Or hurt." He looked pointedly at her hands. She looked at the bruise still around his throat, it was taking its sweet time to fade away. "Touché." He muttered. He was close enough to her that she could see the different shades of blue in his eyes, the damask rose of his cheeks, pale and peach and pink. His lips were parted slightly as he breathed and she realised that if she took a step forward then she'd be able to kiss him.

She swallowed, trying to push that cruelly tantalising thought to the back of her mind, or out of her mind entirely. She watched as he flicked his tongue out to wet his dry lips and... Did he do this deliberately? Or was he unaware that whenever he did something like that, or swept his hair out of his eyes or even smiled then it became harder and harder to deny how she felt?

"Are you alright?" He asked, Irene was glad that they'd been running because at least the rush of blood to her cheeks was easily explained. She nodded. "Good, we should probably get going again. I really don't like alleyways." She led the way again, not entirely sure what way that they needed to be going in, it was like a maze, but slowly she began to hear the sounds of the street again.

"There they are!" A shout from behind them. Time to run again.


	72. Influenza

"Are you sure that you have enough blankets?" Kai asked. Irene looked up at him, her eyes were blood shot and her skin a greyish colour. She coughed, a horrid, phlegmatic cough that made her curl in on herself as she took wracking breaths. She swallowed. "You're sick."

"You could give Vale a run for his money with those observations of yours." She said, her voice was hoarse, quiet and weak. She coughed again. "Could you get me some water?" He nodded. She was laying down, curled up when he returned. It was about half seven in the evening and he'd just returned from running errands all day, she'd still been asleep when he'd left, or he probably wouldn't have left her alone.

He set the glass down and pressed the back of his fingers to her forehead. "You're burning up Irene." He said softly. "You're sick."

"I don't need you to tell me." She said, taking a gulp of the water and clearing her throat. When she spoke again, her voice was a little clearer. "I feel like hell." She sighed. "I've spent most of the day sleeping and I still feel like death warmed up. Or cooled down. I know I have a fever but it's so cold." Kai tutted before getting up.

"I'm going to make you some ginger tea." He said. "It's great for the flu." Irene wrinkled her nose. "And I will bring you one of the blankets from my room too." She smiled.

"Thank you."

A cup of tea and two more blankets later, and Irene was asleep. Kai closed the curtains and dimmed the lights. With a sigh, he swept hair out of her face, and kissed her forehead. "Sleep well." He murmured.


	73. Dinner for three?

"Excuse me." Vale interrupted Irene and Kai's discussion. They looked up from each other, to him stood in the door way. "Dinner?"

"It's evening?" Irene said with a frown, glancing toward the window. "Sorry I got a bit distracted." She smiled as Vale rolled his eyes. "You sir, are such a hypocrite."

"Usually when I get distracted, I am in the middle of a case." Vale pointed out. Kai chuckled as he got up and kissed Vale's cheek. Vale's lips curved in a slight smile, feeling Kai's lips on his skin.

"That doesn't stop you being a hypocrite." He said. "Come on Irene, I suppose that it is dinner time. That was a fantastic book though, you were right." He offered her a hand and hauled her to her feet.

"Do we have to go out?" She asked. It was raining outside. "We could cook, and stay in side, by the fire." Kai looked at Vale.

"That does sound very tempting." Vale said. "I did just come in from the rain, staying in does sound a lot nicer." Kai sighed.

"But I love the rain."

"It's too against one love." Irene said. "I can think of much better things than dragging us out into the rain when we have food in. And wine in."

"Such as?" He asked, arching a brow, pulling her close to his chest and looking down.

"Take a warm shower." She replied with a smirk, pulling away from him. "Vale and I can take care of dinner."

"Sorry, last time I left you two alone to make dinner you burnt it." Kai said. "I'll shower later. You'll just set fire to the house this time, and I'll feel frightfully left out."

"Because we committed arson?"

"I was thinking more of what you were doing that led up to the food burning." Both Irene and Vale blushed. Kai had come downstairs to the smell of smoke and to find Irene having pinned against the wall, both of them far too distracted by wandering hands and kisses to realise that the dinner was smouldering.

He'd been more miffed that they'd started without him than about the dinner being ruined.

"Fine. You can cook." Vale said. "I could do with a shower, it's freezing out there. Will you two get distracted?"

"I've yet to burn things because I can't keep my hands to myself." Kai said. Irene cleared her throat and Kai was reminded of the candle he knocked over once. "Okay, it happened once and no food was involved.

"Kai can cook. I'll tidy up in here, Vale, go and get warmed up, you'll catch a cold otherwise." Irene touched his cheek and he took the opportunity to kiss her hand.

"There are better ways to warm up." Kai pointed out.

"Not when you're hungry. For food." The second part was tacked on before Kai could try and be witty. He sighed.

"I won't be long." Vale promised. "Ten minutes, and then I'll lend a hand." He brushed a kiss to the top of Irene's head before disappearing upstairs. Irene turned to Kai.

"Time to work."


	74. Cuddle pile

"Vale?" Irene pulled her coat off and hung it up, the house was quiet and dim. "Kai?" She made her way up the stairs, the study was abandoned but the door to the master bedroom was open a few inches. Kai and Vale were in bed, neither man had bothered changing into her pyjamas and Irene leant on the door jamb, shaking her head with a sigh. She grabbed her nightdress and changed in the bathroom, taking the time to quickly wash and brush her teeth.

Kai cracked an eye open when she shut the bedroom door behind her and he smiled before nudging Vale, who groaned and pushed him away, albeit half heartedly, and half asleep. "Irene's home." Kai muttered, that woke Vale up who rolled over to prop himself up to look at her as she put her clothes in the laundry hamper and twitched the curtains shut.

"You two should get changed, you'll complain in the morning." She chided.

"You just want the bed to yourself." Kai said, but he sat up and reached for his pyjamas.  
"Why would I want the bed to myself when I can curl up in between you two?" She never slept better than she did with Kai at her back, his arms round her waist, and her head under Vale's chin, his hand reaching over her to touch Kai. Vale usually got up first, carefully untangling his long legs from the sheets, attempting to not disrupt them, and usually failing. Irene often came to bed late, coming home late from work, and having to wake them so that she didn't have to climb into the middle of them to take her normal position.

The gentleman took fifteen minutes to get ready. Irene sat up in the middle of the bed, weaving her hair into a braid so that it wouldn't get into her face, or Kai's. Vale got into the bed first, kissing her forehead and tightly holding her. Kai, the possessive kind, crawled into bed behind her, kissed the back of her head before leaning over to kiss Vale.

"Excuse me, you've had all day to yourselves." Irene said with a laugh. "I require attention."

"You do?" Kai chuckled.

"I am tired and stressed." Irene replied. "Of course I do." His hand slid across her ribcage to hold her tight against his chest, and Vale pressed closer. She smiled and shut her eyes, feeling both men hold her tight and close, safe in their embrace. "That's better."

"It is." Vale said. "It's good to have you both home."


	75. Punishments

“I fucked up.” Vale didn't bother chastising her for the curse word, it was obvious by her voice that Irene was wrapped up in meloncholia. She was tired and sad, hurt and not just physically. She'd unpinned her hat and he could see that her hair had been tied into it's normal bun but she'd made me attempt to neatly pin it in place, or even brush it by the looks of it. Her skirt had creases on, likely from her holding tightly onto the fabric, possibly due to nervousness and anxiety. Her skin was pale, her eyes were their usual bright, warm brown. They were sunken, ringed with greyish purple, the colour was dull and lifeless.

"Sit down." Vale said quietly. "You look like you may fall down." She lay her jacket over the back of the small sofa before sitting on it. "I'll get Strongrock."

"He's asleep?"

"He'd have come out here if he was able to hear you, don't you think?" Vale asked. Irene couldn't find it within herself to snap at him. He was right anyway, Kai would be there in a second if he knew she was there. "What did they say in the Library?"

"I'm on probation." She said quietly, reaching up to run her hand through her hair. "They gave me until tomorrow morning to recover." Vale checked the clock, it was nearing midnight now, and she looked like she hadn't had any sleep since he'd last seen her, and he wasn't entirely sure if she'd slept the night before they met up in Venice. "There's a list of assignments waiting for Kai and myself to complete. Ones that were deemed too dangerous or people just didn't want to do." Her shoulders slumped as she looked at the ground. 

"Kai got kidnapped because of me. He was nearly sold at an auction because I was careless. Because I should have been more careful. But I wasn't! I sent him off alone and he got kidnapped and it's all my fault." Her voice cracked and she forced her hysteria down, swallowing it back and forcing herself to look up at Vale. "The official reasoning for my punishment is not taking proper care of my student and for abandoning my post."

"Typical beaurocratic nonsense." Vale said, ignoring her lapse in control, she would not have appreciated his comments on it anyhow. Irene nodded and he sighed. "You saved him and stopped a war, do they not see that?"

"They can't be seen letting me get away with such behaviours." Irene said. "I'm very lucky that they are not stripping me of my brand and casting me out." She pulled her fingers away from her hair and clasped her hands together on her lap.

"Stay here tonight." Vale said. "You won't get much sleep if you head home. You can sleep in my bed, I'll sleep on the couch."

"Thank you." Irene said, voice hoarse. "For this. And for coming to Venice, I couldn't have made it out of there without you." He gave her a kindly smile.

"Go and rest." He said. "Sleep well."


	76. Duel

"I don't believe you." Silver said, he normally would have been more elegantly draped over his chair, but after several glasses of whiskey (he'd stopped counting after the fourth. Or had it been the fifth?) his legs were draped over one arm and he leant against the other one, tilting his head back. "I am older. More experienced than you could be at your age."  
Vale gestured to the pair of sabers on the wall.

"Put your money where your mouth is." He tossed back the rest of his glass. "Loser pays for dinner."

"Are you asking me out?" Silver purred.

"Only if I lose." Vale replied, setting his glass down. Silver all but jumped out of his chair to retrieve the swords. He swayed a little, unsteady on his feet with most of a bottle of whiskey in him. Vale almost laughed. This was going to be easy. He thought. Then he stood up and felt light headed. Maybe it was a bad idea?

"Catch!" Silver tossed him the rapier and it missed him entirely, spinning away and leaving a scratch in the wooden floor. He stared at it. "Oops." that made Vale laugh aloud as he retrieved it, scuffing at the mark on the floor with the toe of his boot. It had hit hard. They were sharp. This was a really bad idea.

He absolutely loved it.

He tested the weight of the sword with a few swings, getting used to the feel of it in his hand, a little heavier than his cane sword, but nothing that he hadn't expected, and nothing unlike what he had used before. He frowned at his own thoughts. The grammar was an atrocity.

"En garde my dear?" Silver said, gesturing with the tip of his sword.

"In here?"

"It's raining. I don't want to go outside." Vale looked around the study before shifting into a fighting position. Well, it wasn't his study that he would be making a mess of.

"Excuse me!" Both Vale and Silver jumped and dropped the swords before turning to stare at Johnson who was watching with barely controlled rage. "You cannot sword fight in doors! Those things are sharp."

"Hmm the voice of reason." Silver said. "Thank you Johnson." He hiccuped before turning to Vale. "Uhh. Bedroom?"

"I'll make sure that the guest room is set up." Johnson said dryly.

"No need." Silver said. "It won't be used." He looked down at the swords. "Clean up in here." And then he grabbed Vale's hand and pulled him away from the mess that they had left behind. There was more fun to be had elsewhere.


	77. His family

"Have you seen the rest of their family?" Bradamant asked Irene. She'd stayed behind in Paris to make sure that everything was cleaned up and smoothed with the police. She nodded toward Kai. "One king gone mad, Ao Guang seemed... Well, he didn't try to kill us. Have you met any of the others?"

"Ao Shun. I think he's Ao Guang's youngest brother. And I know Kai had brothers, but I haven't met any of the others." Irene croaked. Bradamant nodded. "Ao Shun seemed the decent sort, but with a temper."

"Do all dragons have a temper?" She asked.

"I wouldn't say Kai's temper is particularly bad. But I suppose that they do." Irene asked. Kai looked over at them, he was at the hotel desk, asking for rooms for him, Irene and Vale for the night, though she doubted that Kai would sleep in his room, and if he tried to, she'd ask if she could sleep in there with him, she did not want to be alone. She smiled at him and he smiled back before turning away. Vale was clearly listening to hers and Bradamant's conversation, even if he would claim otherwise.

She turned her head to cough into her handkerchief, tasting blood as she coughed some up. Vale got up and ask if someone could bring her some water. Kai looked between her and the desk before he said something to the clerk and quickly came to Irene's side.

His hand was warm on her back, rubbing soft circles, she could barely feel them through her thick layers of clothes. "Just breath Irene." He said softly. "You're alright." She swallowed before coughing again. Her mouth was thick with the metallic taste of blood. She took a deep breath, finally getting it under control. She nodded. "There we go." Someone brought over the water Vale had asked for, and Irene gratefully took a drink from it, rinsing away the taste of blood.

"I am never using the Language like that again."


	78. Home sweet home

 “I love coming home to you.” Kai had heard her keys on the door and bounded down the stairs to be grabbing her into a tight hug as soon as she was over the threshold. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back, ignoring the pain in her ribs from countless bruises. It had been one week since she'd seen him but it had been a long week and she'd missed him more than she was willing to confess, to herself or to him.

"I love you coming home to me." He said, putting his fingers beneath her chin and softly kissing her. She winced. "What's wrong?"

"A lot of bruises." She said. He frowned before running his thumb over her lip, it was slightly swollen. "I'm fine Kai, just bruised and sore." He sighed.

"Whatever will I do with you?" He asked.  
"Cook us dinner whilst I go and have a hot bath?"

"And what do I get out of that?"

"Dinner with me?" She asked, arching a brow. He chuckled.

"You drive a very hard bargain, but you have a deal miss Winters." She smiled. "Go and have a bath, shout if you need anything." She kissed him, a very soft kiss so that it wouldn't hurt.

"I'm glad to be home again."


	79. My Cup of tea

"Why are you so damn perfect?" Irene frowned.

"It's a cup of tea Kai." She said as she set the tray down. "Are you feeling any better?" She sat on the edge of the bed and brushed hair out of his eyes and checked the temperature of his forehead. He didn't have a fever but he'd been complaining of an awful headache all day and she worried that perhaps he was coming down with something, and always being around him, it meant that she was at risk of contracting whatever it was too.

"Sleeping helped a little bit." He said.

"Good." She smiled and handed him his tea cup. "You are so whiny."

"It feels like someone took a sledgehammer to my skull." He complained. "Thanks for the tea though." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pill pot.

"Aspirin. Don't tell Coppelia. I'm not meant to have it. But I get them too."

"Oh Irene, you really are perfect."


	80. Another proposal

"You're late."

"By all of five minutes." Irene muttered. "You were late last week too." He replied before he cupped her jaw and kissed her forehead. Irene let her eyes flutter shut as he pulled her close, he was gentle and warm, and she was... "You look exhausted." He had taken the words right out of her head. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I came straight here from the Library." She said. "I'm a bit run off my feet to be honest." Kai looked at the restaurant, they had reservations, and he had a plan, but maybe that wasn't the best idea. "I didn't want to cancel on you last minute. You seemed excited." She wasn't entirely sure why, they had a set day each week that they tried to save for spending together, unless she was away.

"Let's go home." He said. "You can get some rest whilst I cook for us."

"Are you sure?" She asked, he smiled.  
"Of course. I'm excited to spend time alone with you, not for where we go." He said. "Come on. Let's go home." He said, stepping out into the street to flag down a cab. "I don't want you to fall asleep face down in your wine."

"The solution would be to not drink wine there." Irene said. Kai had poked jokes about her being a bit of an alcoholic at times. Albeit it a high functioning one. "I can do that, I just chose not to."

"I believe you." He said sarcastically. A cab rolled to a stop and he helped her inside before giving the address. He sent her off to get some rest once they were back whilst he started to cook. She lingered long enough to brush a kiss across his cheek, and tell him and she loved him. He smiled unable to help it whenever he heard those words, and waved her out of the kitchen.

She slept on a couch in their sitting room. Had she gone up to bed she would have been too deeply asleep by the time he came to wake and would be groggy and grumpy, which wouldn't be fun for anyone. He leant on the doorway, watching the slight movements of her chest as she breathed, the way she always slept with one arm against her chest, the other hand went below the pillow, he had tried to convince her that there were better places for a knife to go to no avail and she always slept with one inches away, just in case. She shifted, muttering something in her sleep. She swore up and down that she never talked in her sleep, admitting that yes, she did snore, but talking was a little far. He was never sure what she was trying to say but it did amuse him when he heard it, though at four in the morning it could get a little creepy.

"Rise and shine my love." He said, striding over to her and touching her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and she winced, he'd flicked the light on and it was bright. "Dinner's ready. How do you feel?" She blinked and slowly sat up.

"Like I should have got more sleep last night." She said. She had stayed awake for hours to study up on some Language updates, only coming to bed when Kai staggered into the room to query why he'd woken up without her there.

"Let's eat." He said, holding out a hand to her. She took it and he pulled her into his chest. He cupped her face and swept hair out of her eyes. "Come on sleeping beauty. Wakey Wakey." She smiled, blinking sleep out of her eyes. "Hungry?" She nodded. He took her hand and led her to the kitchen. He pulled her chair out for her, he'd already set the table. They did have a dining room but unless they had company, that wasn't Vale, they never actually bothered using it except for space to work on. And one time something else, but that was only once and then never again because they ended up falling on the floor and carpet burn was unpleasant.

"It smells really good." She said. "Thank you." She dug in, chicken cooked in red wine and roast potatoes. "Thank god you can cook."   
"You aren't too bad."

"There's a difference between me being able to cook the basics, and a few baked things, and the stuff you come out with." He smiled.   
"I grew up with this kind of food. I missed not having it when I didn't live at home, so I learnt to cook it." He said. "And then a few new things as well because, turns out, I really enjoy it, and sometimes you just need comfort food. There isn't exactly a lot of Chinese restaurants around here."

"My parents weren't great at cooking." Irene said. "So we used to have pretty simple meals, but they were good. The kind of food you wanted after a long day doing god knows what, grand larceny and all of that jazz." He laughed.

"I wanted to ask you something." Kai said, once they'd finished eating and the plats were pushed away in favour of cups of coffee. "It was why I asked you out for dinner tonight."

"Sorry for ruining your plan." He shook his head.

"No, I think I preferred this." He said. "It was much better than a restaurant, more private, no interruptions." He got up and reached his hand into his pocket, fingers closing around a small box within it. He pulled it out. Irene's eyes widened when he saw it. He went down to one knee and opened the box. "Irene Winters, will you marry me?"

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, all but sliding off her own seat as the threw herself into a kiss. Kai dropped the ring box, it bounced and shut. He grabbed her around the waist, kissing back. "Yes." She breathed again this lips. "Yes Kai, I'll marry you." He kissed her again.

"The ring." He said, pulling away to look for it. He scooped up the box, and opened it. It held a silver band, inset with a circle cut emerald. He pulled it from the cushion and took her hand, and slid it onto her left hand. It fit perfectly. "Perfect." He cupped her face and kissed her. "I love you. I love you so much." 


	81. Threaten me with a good time

"Oh you can go to hell." Vale muttered. His head was pounding and he had no tolerance for Silver's infuriating antics, Winters (sat opposite him with her nose in a book but clearly listening) would almost definitely call him a hypocrite when he always commented on her language when it took a turn for the foul, Kai would laugh at her for calling him a hypocrite when she was one too.

“Stop threatening me with a good time.” Silver said with a wink that made Vale fight back a blush and a sudden urge to tell Winters and Strongrock to leave so that he and Silver could use the couch that she was on. Or the arm chair Strongrock was in. Or the desk... And he was ready to throw something at Silver, half for his presence, the other half for that glamour of his, teasing, tantalising and downright irritating. He snatched up a crumpled up ball of paper and tossed it at Silver's head. Silver knocked it away with ease. "Really my dear."

"Get out before it's my letter opener that I throw." Vale snapped.

"Touchy, touchy. Then I shall bid you adieu my dear Vale." He purred his name. "Little mouse. Dragon." He was gone as quickly as he arrived.

"Well, that was entertaining at the very least." Strongrock muttered and Vale just sighed.  
"You two just need to kiss and get it over with." Winters said and he turned to look at her, she turned her page, still reading like she hadn't said a thing.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You aren't arguing. And Kai agrees with me."

"I wouldn't say I agree with you entirely." Strongrock said. "It'd get rid of some of the sexual tension between you two. Or we could just kill him and hide the body. I prefer that one."

"I am not killing Silver because you think that I should kiss him." Vale said.  
"Fine. Be that way."


	82. A bit of a bastard

"That better not be the last of the milk." Irene said, dragging herself into the kitchen at six in the morning, her hair was basically a birds nest as she tried to drag her fingers through the knots to make it neater. Her dressing gown belt had been left undone, showing her nightdress, and it trailed on the ground. Kai tried not to laugh at her, there were dark circles underneath her eyes, she probably would be very angry if he did, she really wasn't a morning person. He looked down at the milk jug, and then back up, and ruefully smiled at her. "Oh you bastard." She muttered, it probably hadn't been intended for him to hear that part.

"That is true. Dragons don't usually marry. It's just milk Irene." He said. "There's still plenty of coffee left."

"I don't like black coffee." She said as she started to make herself breakfast. "I am regretting this trip all ready, and we haven't even left the house yet." She yawned, rubbing her eyes with the back of his hand. "I guess it will have to do. I can always buy another cup, or two, at the station or on the train." Kai laughed and poured her a cup of it and slid it into her spot. She put bread under the grill and got the jam out.

"Why did you get the earliest tickets if you hate mornings?" He asked. Irene usually stayed awake well into the early hours, studying and working under dim lamp light, he was sure she was going to damage her eye sight if she kept it up but saying that did not stop the habit. She'd sleep until mid morning usually, rising earlier if she had to, or much later if she'd only dragged herself off to bed at four or five in the morning, but that was very rare.

"We should get into Paris by mid afternoon." She said. "We'll have time to find the hotel and maybe do a little research before dinner." She said. "Any later and we'd practically waste the day on the train and ferry."

"And we aren't taking the quicker zeppelin because...?"

"I wanted to take the ferry." Irene said with a shrug. She didn't get sea sick, she did get vertigo. "And the zeppelin tickets were three times the cost and would only take us an hour less, provided that there aren't high winds. Train and boat seem to be much more reliable." She pulled the toast out before she could burn it and slid it onto a plate, finally sitting down to her coffee. She took a sip of the bitter drink and wrinkled her nose. "Oh you really are a bastard this morning."


	83. Actively bleeding

"I'm not hurt." Irene said, staggering over the threshold, reaching out to flick the light on so that she could see.

"You are actively bleeding." Kai caught her wrist as she staggered. Her shoulder hit the wall as she looked down.

"Oh. So I am." Her blouse was stained red. She swallowed. She could hardly feel the pain. She felt... Fuzzy. And cold. "Kai, I think I'm in shock."

"You don't need to tell me." He said, picking her up. "We should have gone to the hospital. I have half a mind to take you there right now." Irene put her hands to the wound and groaned.

"A good idea." She said. "But I don't trust the doctors here. Help me wrap it, and then we can go to the Library." Kai nodded and ran off to grab the first aid kit. She pulled her coat back and was instantly grateful that she wore blouse and skirt instead of a dress. She pushed her blouse up, swallowing bile when she felt fabric fibres that had been pressed into the wound pull out again. It was only an inch or two deep and slow bleeding, but not too bad, in her experience. Kai came running back down the stairs. She smiled... And passed out.


	84. Come home

“Do you pinky promise?”

"What are you? Five?" Kai snorted.

"Yes. Yes I am." Irene rolled her eyes. "Look, you can either pinky promise me that you  come home safely or..."

"Or what?" Irene asked as Kai searched his brain for a suitable threat. Eventually he gave up. His shoulders slumped and he set his hands on Irene's shoulders and pulled her close.

"Just promise that you'll come home." He whispered into her hair. "I miss being able to go on assignments with you. I want to be there to help, to watch your back and make sure that you make it home safely." She touched his cheek, her fingers always felt cold to him, or maybe he was just always hot. He tightly clasped her hand.

" I promise." She said. "I will come home to you." She pushed herself up onto tiptoes and brushed a kiss to his lips. "I cannot promise that I won't come home with bruises and cuts, but I can promise that I will do anything in my power to come home." He smiled, knowing that that was the most he would be able to get, knowing that was all Irene could promise because being a Librarian was dangerous and there was no certainty that she would be back again, not when the assignment was more than just buying a book, when it was stealing from a prized collection of a mad man torturing witches.

"Come see me when you do return?" He asked, Irene smiled.

"Of course I will." She said. "I may not be able to work with you, but that doesn't mean that we can't talk about it when I do. You'll hardly notice I'm gone, I have no doubt that Vale will keep you busy the entire time I'm gone. I should be less than a week." She sighed. "I should be leaving. There's a lot to do." Kai kissed her forehead.

"Stay safe." He said. "Take care. Come home."

"Home. I like the sound of that."


	85. Wedding date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt request for SilVale fake dating  
> This was super fun to write ^^

“Do you have a date for the wedding yet?” Kai asked, Vale sighed and shook his head. “You’ve got a few weeks left to find someone to take.”

“Can I borrow Irene for the weekend? Mother would at the very least approve of her.” Vale muttered, wearily rubbing his forehead as he stared down at the newspaper not reading it, the words blurred together. His sister was getting married in just over a month and his mother was insiting that he bring someone along with him.

“I would rather you didn’t.” Irene said dryly, she had her nose in her book, as usual, and didn’t look up from it as she turned the page. “I am not an object to be passed around.” She looked up. “And also I would rather shove thumbtacks in my eyes than meet your family at your sister’s wedding.”

Vale was single. He was quite happy with the fact that he was not in a relationship. Whilst his friends seemed happy with their relationship, he was content to be alone and felt no need to go out and meet people, or swipe through picture after picture to find some woman who he’d see for dinner once and then never speak to again because she was boring. And he wasn’t going to touch grindr.

“That is reasonable.” He said, looking up at the pair sat on their couch. He and Kai had been living in a shared flat since university and Irene had moved in after she and Kai had been dating for nearly a year. It made rent cheaper, even if it meant that he had to walk in on them snuggling on the couch every other day of the week. And the occasional thumping noise that made him bang on the door until they quietened down or finished. He quite enjoyed living with them actually, they were good flatmates.

“Take someone that would disappoint your mother.” Kai suggested. “Just go to this wedding and be the family disappointment that we all know they see you as. Get drunk and bring… I don’t know. Who would your mother hate for you to bring the most? And pretend to be dating of course.”

“Silver.” Vale said. “She would detest that.”

“Do it.” Irene said, her eyes sparked and Vale was reminded that she could be very petty and mischievous at times. “And then maybe actually date him so that I don’t have to hear Kai complaining about the sexual tension between you two.”

“There… no. There isn’t sexual tension between us.” Vale said, blushing a little bit. What a liar. “We do not get along.”

“You bicker like an old married couple.” Kai said. “Take Silver. Either you’ll go grey but it will _really_ annoy your mother, or you’ll have a good time and you will _really_ annoy your mother.”

##

“You want me to do what?” Silver asked, a slight smirk on his lips. They curled at the corners as he lowered his eyelids, like a happy cat, purring because it has just been given exactly what he wanted.

“I need someone to come with me to my sister’s wedding, with the sole intention of upsetting my mother.” Vale said bluntly. “She will hate you, so I am putting aside our petty squabbles in order to win another petty squabble.” Silver chuckled.

“Let me just make sure that I am getting this correct.” Silver said slowly, drawling the words a little. “You want for me, to pretend to be your boyfriend for the weekend, at the wedding of your little sister?” Vale nodded. “And this is all to annoy your mother because..?”

“Because she keeps telling me to bring a date, I will make her regret that choice. And also Irene won’t come with me so that she’d get off my back by bringing a nice respectable woman. So I want to bring an awful, unrespectable man instead.”

“People respect me.”

“No Silver. No they don’t.” Vale said shaking his head. He heard the sound of Kai choking on his drink as he laughed from the office next door and he stepped into the corridor for a second. “Stop eavesdropping Strongrock.” He shut the door again. “Will you help me? It will be an open bar. You can drink as much as you want, my mother will hate it.”

“Because you asked so nicely… yes.” Silver said, leaning forward and resting his chin on the palm of his hands. “But I need something from you.”

“What do you want?”

“I need someone to feed my cat next weekend.”

“Deal.”

 

##

 

“Mother, this is Silver.” Silver’s hand was warm on his back. They both wore black suits and white shirts, Silver wore a pale grey tie and pocket square, Vale’s was dark grey. Kai’s suggestion, to have them match but not to be in the exact same suit. “My boyfriend.”

His mother stared at him with the same tawny brown eyes that Vale had, her blink not unlike that of an owl. She looked between the two of them before she smiled, a thin lipped, cold smile that was clearly a thinly veiled attempt to hide her distaste. “How nice to meet you.” She said. “Peregrine, you should go and check in on your sister before the wedding.”

“Of course.” He said with his own forced smile.

“I will go and find somewhere to sit?” Silver said and Vale nodded. “Come find me once you’re done?” He stepped forward and kissed Vale’s cheek. Vale only just about managed to hide his reaction, pushing down the urge to jerk and pull away.

“Of course.” Vale said, softening his voice as he smiled at Silver, and found himself genuinely smiling, and trying not to blush. He felt like his cheek was burning, just where Silver’s lips had touched his cheek. “I wont be long.”

“Don’t be.” Silver’s touch lingered, fingers trailing down his arm as he stepped away. Vale felt goosebumps erupt on his skin.

“Him Peregrine?” His mother hissed. “To your sister’s wedding?”

“You insisted that I bring him.” Vale shot back. “Maybe you shouldn’t have demanded that I bring a date when I would have gladly come alone and you could have been blissfully ignorant about my choice in a partner.” With that he strode away, looking for his sister.

“Your mother keeps glaring at me.” Silver said as Vale slid into the pew next to him. Vale pulled out his phone and sent a message to Kai and Irene before shutting it off. “How is your sister?”

“She’ll do that all night.” Vale said. “And I think she’s fine, just nervous about tripping over her hem.” They were sat at the front of the church, on the second row from the front. “She asked if I would walk her down the ailse, since father isnt here.”

“Are you going to?” Silver asked curiously.

“I will.” Vale said. Silver laughed.

“I think it’s them that’s meant to say that, not us.” Vale’s mother was glaring at them again and he reached over to adjust Vale’s tie for him. “There we go, that’s a bit better.” He smoothed out a loose hair, tucking it behind Vale’s ear. “Whatever will I do with you? You have to look smart for the photos. You are as handsome as ever but you keep mussing up your hair.”

“Thank you.” Vale said, he dragged his eyes away from Silver’s eyes, nearly golden, he had wondered, to begin with, if perhaps the colour was due to tinted lenses. But no, Silver just happened to have nearly golden eyes, despite the name. “I’ll have to go and get her in five or so minutes, but I will be back here as soon as the ceremony starts.”

Vale couldn’t say that he was paying attention to the ceremony, it went on and on for a good long while and he zoned the priest out until he announced the newly married couple and he got to his feet to clap as his sister and new brother-in-law exited the church.

Silver slipped his hand around Vale’s hips as they stood at the bar. “Is this the time we get very drunk and make out?” He asked in a low voice. “Double whiskeys?” Vale snorted.

“That sounds perfect.” Vale said. Once the photographs were done and they had eaten dinner, the bar had been opened and Vale and Silver made a beeline for it. Silver for fun, Vale so that he didn’t have to deal with his family. His brother had given them a few dirty looks as well as his mother, only his sister didn’t seem to have anything against it, or she was just happy and distracted by her new husband. “The whiskey, not the making out.”

“There’s mistletoe everywhere my darling Vale. Peregrine? Can I call you that now?” He was grinning, he was far too happy and Vale wondered just how much wine he’d drunk with dinner, he was certain that it had only been a glass or three. “My perfect Peregrine.” He purred the words.

Vale swallowed, nowhere near ready to admit how good it was to hear Silver say his name like that. The way it just… rolled off his tongue, like it was natural for Silver to have his name in his mouth. His mouth felt dry. “I imagine that I could not stop you if I tried.”

“That you couldn’t.” Silver said before he ordered them their drinks, giving Vale one of the glasses. “I would suggest some fresh air, but who on earth has a wedding in December? It is freezing outside.” He took a sip of the whiskey. “I suppose that you could warm me up?” He smirked.

Vale slid his arms around Silver’s hips and leaned in close to murmur in his ear. “If I am trying to warm you up, it will be because I set you on fire.” He pulled back and smiled softly, anyone who had watched the exchange would have assumed that Vale and Silver were flirting, and that whatever Vale had whispered had been romantic and not actually a suggestion that Vale wished to light Silver alight.

“You know, I actually thought you were about to kiss me then.” Silver said. “I am impressed. You are a good actor.” Yes. Acting. This was all acting. Vale definitely didn’t like the sound of Silver’s voice more and more with each word upon his lips.

He didn’t like the warmth of Silver’s hand on his back or hip.

He didn’t like the way that Silver was looking at him.

No.

He didn’t like it one bit.

“Peregrine, you should be talking to your family members.” His mother seemingly appeared out of nowhere, he had been far too distracted to notice her approach. She grabbed his elbow and Vale grabbed Silver’s hand with his empty hand.

“Mother you will make me spill my drink.” Vale complained. “And if you wanted me to not socialise with my _boy_ friend then maybe you shouldn’t have insisted that I bring someone.”

“Nonsense my dear.” Silver said. “I would love to meet more of your family. They have all been so _nice_ so far.” The comment was clearly aimed at his mother. They had only briefly spoken to his sister as she was all over the place greeting and thanking guests, she’d only paused long enough to get Silver’s name, and thank them both for coming.

His mother released his arm. “Talk to people other than… your date.” She nearly sneered.

“So, your mother is a bit homophobic.” Silver muttered. “You could have warned me.” Vale sighed. “I suppose that you have had to live with this your entire life.”

“She’s okay with me being bisexual.” Vale said, Silver arched an eyebrow. “She thinks it’s a phase and that I will find a nice woman to settle down with, and have children with her.”

“Ah.” Silver said with a slow nod. “That I have heard before. Bisexuality is a myth.”

“And there will be hell to pay if I don’t settle down with someone who can produce an heir to continue the legacy.”

“You have a legacy?”

“Yes, my legacy is annoying the police.” Vale muttered quietly and Silver laughed. “And maybe a few other things.”

They slowly circled for an hour before they pulled away from the crowd for another drink, and a break to get some air, even if it was far too cold to be outside, standing next to the open windows was enough.

“Do you think she hates me?” Silver asked, nodding toward Vale’s mother. “I feel like she does, so that’s a mission accomplished in my opinion, I don’t know about you.”

“I think that she will think twice about pushing me to bring a date to the next family event. If I will be invited.” He took a sip of his drink. “I am the family disappointment. Who would want that around?”

“I would gladly have you around.” Silver said. “You are a beautiful pain in the neck.”

“I’m the pain in the neck?” Vale asked. “All you do is whine and fuss and not do any of your work.”

“And I do it so well, and look so good.” Silver said with a lazy smile.

“That you do.” Vale said, he leant against the wall he looked up. Silver followed his eyes up to the ceiling, and he smiled. Mistletoe. Those poisonous, parasitic berries that apparently meant that you had to kiss whoever else was underneath it. And Silver knew that the sprig was above them.

He looked back at Silver, who was smiling at him like the cat who ate the canary and he nearly sighed. “Oh, am I really that awful?” Silver purred. “Do you think I am that bad at kissing? Maybe you should find out if that’s true.”

He leant close enough that Vale could feel his breath brush across his skin. Vale wanted to kiss him. He did not want to admit that fact.

He wanted to know if Silver’s lips were soft.

He wanted to know if kissing Silver would make Silver’s heart race the way that his own heart was racing.

He wanted to know if Silver wanted to kiss him for any reason but a game.

He kissed him.

It was only a soft, gentle, barely there, touch of the lips. Brushing his lips across Silver’s for a second before he pulled back again, staring at Silver, watching for the slightest twitch of a reaction from him.

Silver exhaled.

“I thought that I was going to have to be the first one to kiss you.” Silver breathed, he was smiling, his eyes lidded but his pupils were wide. He leant in and kissed Vale again.

Vale’s hand’s felt natural on Silver’s jaw, like that was where they needed to be. It felt… good. He could feel his heart beating harder as Silver kissed him. There was a blush burning across his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose.

When Silver pulled back his took a deep breath. “You taste like whiskey.” He remarked and Vale had to laugh, he wasn’t sure what else there was for him to do, he absolutely had nothing to say about it.

“You taste like honey.” He said a moment later, with a small smile on his face. He did. Silver’s lips tasted like honey, and now Vale could taste it on his own lips. He wanted to kiss him again. To see if Silver’s skin tasted like honey too, if his hair smelt of it. It was all that he wanted in that moment in time.

“I will admit that I was hoping that something like this would happen when you asked me to come.” Silver said, leaning on the wall next to Vale and reaching down to lace their fingers together.

“Irene said that this needed to happen so that Kai would stop complaining about us at work.” Vale said. “We aren’t that bad.”

“You ignore my flirting all the time.” Silver complained. “I was starting to think you didn’t like me.”

“You were flirting with me?” Vale asked incredulously. “I had no idea.”

“You are useless my darling. Absolutely useless.”

They stayed leant against the wall talking for a good half hour, before the cake was cut and there were a few speeches, including one from his sister, he was distracted by the feeling of Silver’s hand in his though, and Silver was too.

Which is how she manged to hit Silver in the face when she threw the bouquet into the crowd.

It bounced off his face to land at his feet. He and Vale stared at it, and then each other.

“I am not proposing.” Vale said dryly.

“Of course not, you can at least take me out to dinner first.”

“It’s a date.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, comments keep me going <3


	86. Picnic and naps

"I need to get away from the city for a bit." Kai said, laying on the couch, one arm tucked behind his head, a book resting on his stomach, Irene looked up. "Some fresh air and a chance to stretch my legs. Maybe also my wings." Irene smiled.

"Well you are welcome to go off and do whatever you want on any day that we don't have plans already." Irene said. "I'll survive alone for a day or so. Just let me know when you're going and where, so I don't worry about you. And also, if you do want to stretch your wings, make sure you are nowhere near people who will see you and panic."

"Or you could come with me." Kai said. Irene tilted her head. "It's obvious that you haven't been sleeping too well recently. Why don't we go off for a day or two?"

"I have work to do." She said, he was right though, she hadn't been sleeping well. She'd been dreaming of Alberich's Library since they'd returned six weeks ago. She'd woken up screaming for the first few days and Kai had sat with her until she could sleep again. She'd got passed that but she wasn't sure if she'd just stopped screaming, or they had gotten marginally easier to cope with. She knew that she looked tired. Vale had commented on it as well, though with a little less tact than Kai managed, by informing her that she looked truly awful, which was just adding insult to injury to be honest.

"Alright." She said. "Maybe some country air will do us both some good. Pick a place and I'll pick a date." He grinned, a bright toothy grin that made Irene smile too, sometimes she was powerless to resist his charms, life would be so much easier if he wasn't so... Easy to fall for.

##

Irene and Kai both lay on a tartan picnic blanket, far more interested in their books than an actual conversation, but they were happy like that. A picnic basket sat between them, still with food in it for later, a bottle of wine and another bottle of water. There was a cool breeze that swept over the grass, ruffling the corners of the blanket and messing up their hair.

Irene turned her page and glanced at Kai out of the corner of her eye. He was smiling slightly as he read his book. He lay on his stomach, strands off loose hair fell over his eyes and she wanted to reach over and tuck it behind his ears, it would definitely be soft underneath her fingers, and he would definitely smile at her when she did it.   
She forced her eyes back to her book. Kai's coat was soft underneath her head. He'd folded up and offered it to her to use as a pillow when she'd started to grow cold and had to put her coat back on. They'd probably have to head back soon, it looked like it was going to rain.

Kai flicked an ant off the blanket and sighed. "It's nice and all but I am beginning to hate bugs."

"We should go before we get soaked." Irene said, reaching for her bookmark, realising that she couldn't find it and using a leaf instead. She pushed herself up and poked him in the back a few times. "Up. I don't want to get wet." Kai groaned but with the way he was laying, he could not swat her hands away. He dog-eared his book page and Irene resisted the urge to wrap her hands around his throat and squeeze. He rolled over and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down onto the blanket to lay beside him.

"We'll be fine." Kai said. "A little bit of rain is not about to kill you."

"I'm a witch. I'll melt." He laughed.

"I thought that you were bad at magic." He replied, prodding her just beneath the ribs. She pressed her lips together as she tried to not laugh, attempting to squirm away from him.

"Kai!" He stopped and laughed, she could feel herself flushing. "Don't ever do that again or I'll cut your fingers off."

"Irene, you never follow up on your threats." He said, shaking his head as he sat up. "You don't scare me."

"I could though."

"No you couldn't." A drop of rain hit Irene's cheek, spattering across her skin. Kai looked up and sighed.

"I told you so." She said as she hastily put her book away before it could get wet as more and more rain streaked down from the sky.

"I have a solution." Kai said, Irene looked up from packing things away. He took a step back and stretched his arms out and Irene had to shut her eyes, and when she opened them again, Kai was a dragon, and he was curling around her. Irene ran her fingers over his scales and smiled slightly. She sat down again, leaning her head against his neck as Kai lay on the ground, spreading his wings to shelter her. "There we go." His voice rumbled through her body. 

Irene pulled the blanket out again and wrapped it around herself as she heard rain begin to hit his scales. "Comfortable?"

"Very." She said, pulling out his book. "Let's see where you got up to." She smoothed out the creased page corner and started to read it aloud. Kai chuckled, the sensation odd underneath her back. The rain pattering down on him was quite a soothing sound, and with the blanket wrapped around her shoulders to keep her warm, she found her eyes slipping shut, the book falling out of her hands and onto the grass. Kai shut his eyes too, leaving Irene to get some rest, safely nestled inside warm coils of dragon, with a wing over her head to keep her dry.

The sky was growing dark when Irene blinked her eyes open, looking around in bleary confusion, all she could see was deep blue and hear Kai breathing. She slowly stretched her legs out, stiff from sleeping sat up. Her knee clicked and she grimaced. "Kai?" He slowly opened a solitary red eye to look at her before closing it with a groan. "I think we dozed off." She picked the book up and brushed the cover off. "We need to get going before we miss the last train." She checked her watch. They were a good half hour away from the nearest station and the next train, and last train, was in an hours time. "Kai." She nudged him a few times but he didn't open his eyes again. The rain had stopped so Irene decided to try and push his wing away so that she could get up.

"Don't do that." He groaned. "Give me a minute to wake up properly." She sighed and sat down again. Kai shifted and Irene yelped as she fell backward. He laughed as he pushed himself to clawed feet. Irene brushed herself off and got up, finally getting the chance to stretch properly. Watching as Kai arched his back and spread his wings to have a good stretch too.

"Thank you for suggesting this." Irene slid her hands across his scales, wondering if it was tickling him. "It was nice to get away for a day." Kai smiled, at least, she thought it was a smile. He revealed rows of shiny and sharp teeth. It would have been unnerving had Irene not known that Kai was a soft sweetheart deep down, underneath that tough hide.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." He rumbled. "You may want to step back, I'm going to shift back." Irene pushed herself onto top toes and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose before she took a few steps backward. She shut her eyes as Kai changed back, and then he was stood in front of her, giving her a lopsided grin, some of his hair had come loose from the tie and flopped over his eye. It looked quite... Rafish?

Where was self control when you needed it? 


	87. Promise

“Can I touch you?” Kai shook his head. Irene stood up and grabbed a wash cloth from by the sink and ran it under the tap before wringing out the excess water and giving it to him to wipe his mouth clean. "Alright, why don't you brush your teeth and come downstairs. I'll make us some tea to drink." Irene had woken to the sound of Kai shouting at... Something. She'd presumed the worst and got out of bed to rush to his room. A nightmare. One that had made him sick to the stomach and he'd rushed past her to go to the bathroom and throw up. He'd barely eaten dinner that night, claiming to not be that hungry and Irene wondered if he knew that this would happen and was trying to hide it from her. She'd been having her own nightmares of that cursed venice but Kai's woke him in pure terror, he'd woken crying the night before and she'd never seen him cry before.

He padded down the stairs just as she was filling two cups of mint tea for them, no caffeine and it should help to settle his stomach. His skin was sallow, tinged yellow and his eyes had dark circles below them. He dropped into his usual chair and it creaked beneath him as he leant his head in his hands. Irene set the tea cup down in front of him and then took the seat at his side, not her usual seat opposite.

"Don't leave me." Kai's voice was rough, he was almost choking on his words as he finally forced himself to look at her, a good five minutes after they'd sat down.

"I'm not going to." Irene said softly. "I'm staying with you for as long as I can Kai. I promise."

"I..." He gasped.

"It's alright." She said softly, holding her hand out to him, waiting for him to take it, when he didnt, she wrapped it around her cup. "I would fight for you Kai, if anyone took you from me again. I'd do everything in my power to keep you safe, and to bring you home."

"What if you can't?" He stared into his tea, sounded so resigned that Irene was sure her heart would crack in his chest. He didnt believe her. He thought they would win.

"I don't know Kai." She said, deciding that honesty was the best policy. "But you shouldn't worry about that happening. You're safe now."

"If you would fight to save me, they would hurt you." He said. "You... You shouldn't throw your life away for mine."

"Kai, I care about you a great deal, and more than I will ever confess. I'd do everything I could to keep you safe, alright? Even if that means fighting to the death, I would not hesitate to do it. I need you in my life, just like you need me." She smiled at him. "I want to keep you safe. And I want you to stay in my life for as long as you can. You are my friend." She wanted to say so much more.

Because there was so much more. There were the words that could not be said between them because then its too much. Too far. A line in the sand that she desperately wanted to cross for both of their sakes, but there were words you just couldn't take back, couldn't ignore once they were out in the open, and she didn't want to put him through that. Her saying those three words that could mean the world to them, and that would have to be it. A confession and then a cold shoulder. Because all they could be was... "You are my friend. And I don't care if you think I shouldn't throw my life away for you. I'd do it in a heart beat."

"You mean every word?"

"Every single word." She said with a nod. "Can I touch you?" This time he nodded and she scooted her chair closer and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. He sighed, and leaned his head on her shoulder. "I'll always be here for you. I swear."


	88. Panic

It was cold. Well, he presumed it was cold. It did not feel like cold to him. It was just a comfortable temperature, the same temperature that he was, when he put his hand on the frosted mirror, realising that his mood was taking control of his environment and ice began to creep over anything it could.  
His eyes were like rubies set in pure white marble, glittering with a dangerous light, a warning to stay away from him. His hands, he could see them as he looked into the mirror (at the mirror since the ice was masking most of his reflection) were beginning to show more and more scales with each heavy pound of his heart, it beat against his ribcage.

He swallowed a shallow breath, lungs refusing to function for a moment. He tried to force it all away. Push it down. Move on. Forget the emotions. Be ice. Be cold and emotionless. Be... Nothing.

But it didn't work.

His nails grew sharper and longer, shining like polished pearls. He growled, angry with himself for losing control like this, which in turn made it harder to control as his mind spiralled further and further out of control.  
Shards of ice splintered as he pulled his hand away from the mirror, he hardly heard them as they hit the porcelain sink and shattered into dust. Ice clung to his fingers and claws, but he ignored that as he put his fingers to his cheek, scaled too.

He was losing control.

The mirror shattered. Glass and extreme cold did not fair well.

Shards littered the bathroom floor and he stepped backward, releasing a ragged breath.

The thought that he was losing control made him panic more as he realised that there was a very really possibility that he'd shift without even thinking about it. He needed to stop this. But he did not know how. He needed...   
He...

He needed to breath.

On his knees, ignoring the frozen glass as it cut through his trousers and dug into his legs, if anything the pain was helping to ground him in the here and now, he pressed his hands into the floor, stretching out his fingers.

His breathing was rough and uneven, jerking in his chest. He fought the urge to roar, to rip the place to pieces and leave it all crashing down around his ears.

He needed to calm down.

That was easier said than done.

His chest hurt and he pressed a hand to his heart, feeling its fast pace beats under his palm.

Five things he could see.   
Glass.   
Ice.   
Claws.   
Scales.   
Tiles.

Four things he could feel.   
Cold.   
Soft.   
Pain.   
Blood.

It was working.

Three things he could hear.   
Breathing.   
Beating.   
Dripping.

Two things he could smell.   
Lavender.   
Bleach.

One thing he could taste.

Mint.

He could feel his heart slow down as he forced his mind to focus on the task at hand, rather than on panicking. He pushed himself back and sat against the door, still breathing a little too heavy, but it came easier now.   
He was going to be okay.   
He needed a new mirror. 


	89. Snowballs

The snow ball hit Li Ming in the face, taking him completely by suprise. He whipped his head around to see who had thrown it, expecting to see the Prince, the gossamer threads of his silvery hair caught on the icy winds that cut through clothes as his eyes settled on the Fae, and narrowed. Lord Silver, though Li Ming doubted that he deserved that title, he was probably born into it and had done nothing to deem himself worthy of it. Li Ming had been born into his own title, but he did like to think that he'd worked hard to earn his position in society, and that he deserved it. Unlike him.

Another snowball was thrown his way, it hit his shoulder and exploded in a puff of white powder, snow clinging to the wool of his coat. He pressed his lips into a thin line before bending down to make his own ball, if that's how it is going to be, then that is how he will play. The wind picked up, whistling through the empty London street, and the snowflakes, currently lazily floating down from pale grey clouds, began to grow in size and streak down heavier now. His ball of snow, pressed as tightly as he could manage, hit Lord Silver squarely in the jaw, illiciting a startled cry of shock. Li Ming smiled in spite of how stupid they were being. It was... Fun.  
Silver laughed, throwing another snowball, Li Ming blocked it with his forearm before throwing his own missile and closing the gap between them, slamming into Silver and knocking him into a snowbank.

With snow now pelting them from above, Silver was struggling to keep up with Li Ming and was hit time after time, usually in the face, by Li Ming's impeccable aim. He hissed and ran after the Dragon, determined to get his own back and push him down, into the snow. "Ming!" Li Ming's step faltered and Silver used the missed step, and his momentum, to send them both down into the thick snow. It was like having iced water suddenly thrown over him as they both hit the floor. Li Ming's growl was beautifully ferocious as he pushed Silver away and quickly pinned him down, pushing him into the snow.

"Don't. Ever. Call. Me. That. Again." He said through gritted teeth. Silver stared at him. Gods was the dragon beautiful when angry. Absolutely beautiful. Flashing red eyes, silver hair falling about his face, a smattering of scales along sharp cheekbones...

Silver grabbed the front of his coat and pulled Li Ming down to him, and kissed him. Li Ming recoiled in disgust, looking, for a brief moment, like he may be physically sick. And then he was holding Silver down and kissing him such a ferocity that it made his lips burn despite the sub zero temperature. Li Ming caught Silver's lower lip between his teeth, biting down and tugging on the tender flesh until he heard Silver groan in both pain and pleasure, and released him, before kissing him with the same bruising force all over again.

Silver was grasping onto his coat as hard as he could, kissing Li Ming with sheer desperation in his heart and one his mind, loving the way that it hurt perfectly, only for Li Ming to soothe the ache with a flick of his cold tongue over his now swollen lower lip.

"I have a house you know." Silver gasped, when Li Ming relented his attack on his lips. "I even have a garden if you'd prefer to continue this still in the snow but more private than a random back street. Someone may find us." Li Ming sat back on his heels with a huff, feeling water begin to seep through his trousers, it had been doing that before hand, he'd just been distracted.

"No. You're coming home with me." He replied, standing up and offering Silver a hand to his feet. "I would never go home with you."


	90. Moonlit

Kiss under a full moon

Central London after dark wasn't a place that Irene often felt safe in. It was too dark to see into all of the shadows and the streets were almost entirely empty, except for the kind of people that she did not want to encounter during daylight. And on a full moon, the danger was worse.

Luckily, she wasn't alone. Not tonight. No, her arm was hooked around Kai's and she walked close by his side as he held onto her, clearly as on edge as she was, though considerably more confident in his ability to come out of a fight on the winning side. They'd been to the theatre and against her better judgement, stopped late for a drink or two afterward, now it was black as pitch out, bitterly cold and there was the occasional howl caught on the wind before the sound was caught up in the thick smog that pressed around them, and then silence fell again. Irene wasn't sure what was worse. The howl. Or the nothing.

Kai had felt her tense at his side, but his step didn't falter, mildly annoyed by the lack of cabs and the smell of the smog, he had no problem with seeing in the dark and whilst he could be just as paranoid as Irene was, he was quite enjoying the night time stroll. It was rare to have Irene's undivided attention, usually she was thinking of work, or what was going to go wrong next, or what shopping they needed and unless is was a Sunday evening, when she finally gave herself the chance to relax, then he had to compete with paperwork and petty thievery. They crossed the apple market of Covent garden, long since abandoned and when they emerged in front of the actors church, Kai stopped.

"What's wrong?" Irene said, a millisecond later, she whipped her head around to try and see why he'd stopped, to see what was wrong.

"'Rene." He cupped her jaw and tilted her head to look at him. "Nothings wrong it's just..." The moonlight was fighting to makes its way through the clouds and smog, casting dim beams of silver light on them. She looked up at his, skin painted with the glow of the moon. He ducked his head and softly pressed his lips to hers. He slipped his hands around her waist, pulling her flush to his body as Irene responded to the kiss, wrapping one arm around his neck as she slid fingers into his hair with the other, reticule swinging to knock against his shoulder.

"I just wanted to kiss you." He said, giving her a smile as he pulled back. "You look beautiful in the moon light." She flushed before pushing herself up onto tiptoes, and kissing him.


	91. Trio

"I am... Madly in love with." Irene confessed, ignoring Kai snort behind her, spreading her hands as she looked Vale in the eyes. He stared back, not unlike a startled deer.

"Why?" It wasn't the condescending 'why' that one may expect from the commonly stoic man, the one who had no time for these lesser feelings. The softer feelings that, for once in her life, Irene did not bother to hide, even if it meant that Kai was trying to not laugh at her.

"I don't have a clue." She confessed. "I don't know why I love you. I just know that I do and... I didn't want to keep silent about it anymore."

"You're in a relationship." Vale said in shock and disbelief. Strongrock is sat right behind you!" He grasped her shoulders. "What is wrong with you?"

"A lot." She said, narrowing her eyes at him a little. "But right now... Nothing. Kai is okay with this. With the way I feel, and that I chose to tell you how I feel." She stepped back from him and sat on the edge of the couch, Kai reached over to squeeze her hand. "Tell me no if you don't feel the same for me and we can pretend that nothing was ever said. That I can accept."

"What can't you accept?" 

"The assumption that, there must be something wrong with me to want you, that I am wrong, or that I am..." She looked for the right way of putting it. "donating myself to you out of charity." He nearly smiled, shaking his head. "Don't treat me like I don't know how I feel. And my relationship with Kai would have no affect on any relationship that I would have with you, if that was what you wanted." 

"Well, there'd probably be some issue with if we both want your company on the same night." Kai mused aloud. "I'm sure we could come up with a time table.

"How are you okay with this?" Vale asked Kai.

"Monogomy isn't always the best way of setting up a relationship." He shrugged. "Irene told me how she felt. We talked about this, and I said that I would be okay with you two having a relationship, as well as maintaining the relationship with me. I trust her and her feelings." Vale looked more annoyed that Kai had not sided with him than anything else.

"I have feelings for you Vale." Irene said softly. "I am aware that I could be kidding myself in thinking that you could ever reciprocate them, I'm an adult, it wouldn't change the way things already are if you don't. But... Why not give it a chance? You wouldn't be hurting Kai. He's here because I trust him, and I trust you as well." Vale threw himself down into his seat. "Please say something." She said softly a minute later, when he hadn't said anything.

Vale pulled his diary toward him and flipped through until he found the right page. "Dinner." He said finally. "Thursday, if you're available." He looked up at her, and Irene nodded. "I'm willing to try. I won't deny that, there is a degree of reciprocation on my part, but I need time to come to terms with," He waved his hand toward them. "This."


	92. Coffee and caramel

"Iced caramel macchiato and a chocolate brownie?" Vale asked. Silver blinked at him. "Large. Yes?"

"Yes... How did you know that?"

"You come in twice a week, buy the exact same thing and then flirt with whoever is on the till." He replied with a shrug, grabbing a tray to start the order. "I notice these things." Irene snorted and he shot her a look. She shut up.

"Well, it's good coffee." Silver said with a shrug. "And maybe you shouldn't hire pretty people to work here? Though, then I suppose that you would have to find new work, wouldn't you?" Vale stared at him. "No? Worth a shot."

"Was it?" He said dryly as he added an unhealthy amount of caramel to a tall glass. "Keep telling yourself that, and maybe it will be."

"You lose one hundred percent of the chances you don't take." Silver said with a flourish of his hand. He leant on the counter with one arm, his posture and attitude at odds with his austere suit. "Yes, I don't get to take you out for dinner but at least I tried."

"Keep trying." Irene said. "This is entertaining."

"Winters, aren't you due a break?"

"No, I just got back."

"No you didn't. Off you go." Vale said, shooing her through the door to the back room. "Go. Fifteen minutes. Text Strongrock or something. Instead of stealthily checking your phone whenever you think I am not paying attention." Irene rolled her eyes, but left, shutting the door behind her, already pulling her phone out. He turned back to Silver. "That will be five pound and fifty-five pence." Silver pulled his wallet out.

"What will it take for me to be able to take you out for dinner?" Silver asked as he handed over a ten pound note, held between two of his fingers. "Just out of curiosity."

"You not flirting with other people in front of me for starters." Vale added the two shots of espresso to ice. "Or with other people at all really."

"Alright. No flirting. I can do that." He said. "Can I still flirt with you?"

"If you must." Vale said tiredly. "Here." He slid the tray toward Silver before taking the money and opening up the till to get out change. He counted at the right change and handed that over too.

"Thank you." Silver said, he picked up the drink to try it. "Hmm, not quite as sweet as you, but still very good." Vale narrowed his eyes. "What can I say? I like my like I like my coffee, tall and sweet, or with a confusing Italian name that I cannot pronounce. And you tick two of those boxes. Unless you have an Italian name? You never told me your first name."

"Its Latin." Vale said.

"Is it easy to pronounce?"

"If you're not an idiot, yes." Vale said dryly. "Will that be everything?"

"Your phone number would be fantastic." He slid a napkin across to Vale. "I even have something that you can write it on." Vale grabbed a pen and scribbled something on it.

"There." He said, sliding it back over.

"Peregrine? Interesting choice." Silver said. "I'm hardly one to talk though. I'll call you, dinner sometime."

"Only if you don't flirt with anyone else."

"I live to make you happy."


	93. Hide and seek

“Nothing could go wrong, you said. Well guess what? Everything has gone wrong!”  

"You aren't usually this dramatic, Winters." Vale said dryly.

"Well usually I'm not late for dinner with Kai, dinner that you are keeping me from." Vale huffed.

"Sorry I am keeping you from, what I can only assume, is a fascinating evening." He said, poking his head around the corner to see if it was clear, before they hurried down the narrow alleyway.

"Well, it's just dinner." Irene said with a shrug. "But we have been so busy for the past couple of weeks, tonight was the first night in over fortnight  where I wasn't working and Kai didn't have other things to deal with for his father." She followed his through the swirling fog and wished for trousers and not a heavy skirt. "He was cooking for me. He's probably already done it."

"Will you stop whining?" Vale snapped. "You'll get home tonight."

"Yes, after dinner and with no way of telling Kai that I'm going to be late, because I don't have any paper on me!" Irene snapped. "I don't want him to think I've forgotten. It's not very nice to stand people up. I doubt you'd know, usually you're the one forgetting to turn up, aren't you?"

"There is no need to be rude, this way." He grabbed her elbow and pulled her into another alley way as people ran past. "Just because there are more useful things that you could be doing tonight than candlelit meals."

"I don't think we have any candles in."   
"You know what I mean." Vale sniped. "You are more interested in Strongrock and your bed than solving crime." Irene flushed. "And you can't even deny it."

"Peregrine Vale, you are my least favourite person right now." She huffed. "I'm hungry. I want to spend the evening with Kai. Just call me selfish and be done with it. There is no need to bring anything else into it. Especially not... That." She was still blushing furiously.   
"All I was doing was suggesting that you needed some sleep. You look tired."

"Do you want me to hit you? Because right now, I really want to hit you." She hissed. Vale huffed but kept going, knowing fully well that she would smack him given sufficient motivation, but she would do it, and it would hurt. "Where are we even going? I don't know where we are."

"Will you be quiet?" Vale said. "We are being followed and you are chattering like you are at a coffee shop." The alley opened up into an abandoned side street and she could walk at his side, having to hurry to keep up with his long legs.

"Shan't." She replied snippily, she couldn't see his face, but she was certain that he rolled his eyes. She glanced back over her shoulder. "We can bicker later. I think we should run."

"An excellent idea for a change." He replied and they set off, Irene let Vale chose the directions as she picked up her skirts as to not trip on the hem. She was faster than he was, but she'd just get them hopelessly lost. The alley he ran down was narrow and she nearly tripped over someone's rubbish bins, cursing loudly as she scraped her hand on the dank walls and felt blood welling up. "Are you alright?"

"Just keep going." She said, a little breathy. "I'm fine."

They burst out onto a busy street and Vale caught her arm and they slowed to a fast walk, losing themselves in the crowds. She hooked her around his, looking down at her bloodied other hand. "That's going to really hurt in the morning." She muttered, before showing him the damage. He frowned, scrutinising it before he stopped, and raised his hand to signal a cab.

"Go home." He said as a cabbie pulled up and he quietly gave the driver hers and Kai's address. "Get that cleaned up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I don't want to be the reason you and Strongrock fall out, or you getting sick thanks to infection. Go home. Ill be fine." Irene nodded.

"Stay safe."


	94. Confessional

"I love you, but please shut up." Irene muttered and Kai managed to choke on nothing, spluttering for a moment before Vale reached over and smacked him on the back in a completely unhelpful manner than just hurt. "Kai, breathing isn't particularly hard."

"I'll... Give you a minute." Vale muttered before disappearing out the door. Irene frowned at him, and then looked at Kai, who was staring at her with wide, teary eyes.  
"Can you repeat that please?" He asked weakly.

"I said that breathing isn't hard." Irene said.

"No, the bit before that."

"I told you to shut up. I'm trying to focus and your near constant chattering is quite distracting, I do want to listen to you, but I just can't right now." He got up and put his hands on her desk, leaning forward until he was as close to her as he could get without walking around it.

"Before that."

"I don't remember. It was something about whatever you were talking about, it's why I told you to shut up, I really need to focus I'm sorry for being rude but-"

"Irene, you just told me that you loved me, and I think that's probably something that we should discuss." Irene's jaw dropped, before she remembered that was rude and she quickly shut her mouth again. "Did you not realise?"

"No." She said softly. "Believe me, I didn't want it to come out like that. I wasn't even sure if I was ever going to say it. I'm not good with this kind of thing, with these emotions." She got out of her seat and slowly circled the desk. She took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together, staring at that for a moment before she forced herself to look at his face. "Kai, I love you." He was silent for a long moment and she pulled away from him. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything." She could feel her heart pounding hard in her chest and it hurt. Her eyes were burning. She swallowed and felt her stomach clench. She turned away so that he couldn't see her eyes tearing up.

"Irene." His voice was soft and he reached out to touch her shoulder. She didn't turn back around. "Irene. I can't... I don't know what to say right now because those are words that I have never used for a partner. I've never found someone that I could say them to, until I met you but even hearing you say that, I can't do it."

"You don't have to." She said quietly. "But I think I'm going to need a few minutes alone."

"I don't want to leave you alone. Not when you're clearly upset." He took a step closer to her. "I can't say those three words. Not yet anyway. But I feel them. I do feel for you. You are the best thing in my life, you have saved my life, you have always had my back. You are there when I need you, and I want to be there for you. But please, give me time before I can say the way that I truly feel. Don't pull away from me. I couldn't bare to lose you."  
"It hurts a little bit."

"I'm sorry." He closed the small gap between them and wrapped his arms around her stomach so she could lean against his chest. She shut her eyes as she leant her head on his shoulder. "I feel it Irene, I swear. I just can't, not yet. One day, I promise."

"Alright." She said, pulling herself together. "One day."


	95. Blanket pile

“Are you sure that you have enough blankets?” Vale nearly chuckled, finding both Irene and Kai in his rooms wasn't uncommon, they both regularly slept over there when they'd been having dinner or he'd been working late. His bed was a little small for all three of them, but they made it work.  
He'd come home and found them both draped in multiple blankets and curled up together on the couch together, clearly waiting for him. Irene's hair was wet from the rain and tendrils stuck to her skin, she'd obviously forgotten her umbrella. Kai was dry, he'd clearly bundled her up to keep her warm, and then joined in himself, waiting to wrap him up as well.

"There are some for you too." Kai said. "Hurry up and join us." Vale shrugged out of his jacket and leant his cane against the wall. Irene's legs had been thrown over Kai's but she moved so that he could go in the middle, tucking her legs up underneath her before leaning against him and draping part of her blanket around him. He thanked her with a soft kiss, she shivered when he put his icy cold fingers on her jaw. Kai quickly warmed Vale up, Kai was always physically hot, and a blanket and Kai's arms around him, not to mention a kiss, made Vale forget the atrocious weather and all but melted into the arms of his two lovers and the muddle of tangled up blankets.

"Tell us against the case." Irene ordered, she leant forward to pick up her cup of coffee. "Was it interesting?" Vale yawned and nodded. With the two of them there he could have happily fallen asleep.

"Very." He said. "A man killed inside of a locked room and yet there was no way for him to have committed suicide." He yawned again.

"Go to sleep." Kai said. "We'll be here later, you can tell us then." He pulled Vale to him so that Vale could use him as a cushion, and Irene curled up to use him as a cushion in turn, or maybe a blanket, since he could feel warmth from her too. Vale's eyes slid half shut.

"Goodnight." Irene's voice was soft and barely reached his ears as he slipped into the dark, feeling Kai's lips on his hair and then nothing. He could never have a nightmare with these two holding him.


	96. Footsie

"Get off my foot." Irene hissed at Kai, keeping her voice as low as she could. 

"Get your foot out from underneath my foot." He sniped back. Irene wrinkled her nose and had they not been pressed close together in a tiny cupboard she probably would have snapped at him. But alas, they were indeed squashed into a tiny cupboard and if Irene raised her voice then someone was going to find them. And she didn't want to get found in a cupboard with him. For one, it would look questionable. For another, they were robbing the place.

Kai shifted enough to not have his foot on top of her toes. "Better?" He whispered. Irene nodded. "This is ridiculous. We should have just run for it."

"I don't think either of us could survive a bullet to the back." She replied. She froze, hearing footsteps making their way down the corridor toward their cupboard. "Door cupboard, lock and jam." There was a soft clicking sound. That would keep anyone from checking on the cupboard if they decided to take a peak in there.

Kai huffed, she felt his warm breath rush over her skin and goosebumps spread over her. She tried not to roll her eyes." How long do we have to wait?"

"Until I know security isn't out there." She replied, before wincing. 

"What's wrong?"

"Something is digging into the back of leg. It hurts quite a bit." Kai wrapped his arm and her hips and pulled her flush to his chest and away from the shelves behind her.

"Is that better?" He asked, his cheek against the side of her head. Irene hummed her ascent, enjoying the warmth of his body. Normally she would push him away, say that it was unnecessary, but there was nowhere to go. And she was only human. He was so warm, she could feel it spreading through out her entire body, from her cheeks (she was probably blushing) to her toes. He smelt like the sea, of salt and sand and... A warm summers day? If one could compress that all into one nearly perfect scent. It was probably one of her favourites. She wasn't an outdoorsy person, too many ants on her books, but she did enjoy being able to sit in the shade and enjoy the warmth for a little while, before returning to where there weren't bugs.

She could feel his heart thudding in his chest, it hiccuped as she looked up to catch his eyes. Skipping a beat. For her.  
She shouldn't be thinking about. He was her student. That was all that they could be.

"Yes." She whispered, before swallowing. "Thank you. This isn't too uncomfortable for you?"

"A little, but I'll survive." He said with a nod. It was warm in the cupboard, and she could see the traces of pink flush in his cheeks. "I think the guard is gone.

"Give it another minute." She said, half because she wanted to be careful and half because she didn't want to leave his embrace. It was nice to be... Held. And the way that he was looking at her? Like she was the sun in his sky? The moon in his night?  
She didn't want to like it or want it, but she did. She wanted him to always look at her like that.

He swallowed, she watched his throat work and wondered what he was thinking about, because he was trying very hard not to let any expressions show on his face, but he was awful at hiding the emotions behind his eyes.

"Alright. Let's go." 


	97. Trapped

 

Li Ming was comfortable in the light, in the eyes of people, centre of attention, talking and socialising. But he was far more comfortable when he could slip away to lurk in the shadows. He liked being able to watch and study people. He wanted to know what people were hiding, who was dangerous and who could be trusted, who cared and who didn't.

Skulking in the shadows (what others would say about it, not what he would say) had its benefits, but it it also had its disadvantages. For one, no one who needed to find you could, and people he didn't want to find him could do it, because they also liked watching from sheltered alcoves.

"Dragon." Silver didn't make Li Ming jump. He couldn't if he tried. Li Ming was far too aware for that, it was nearly impossible to sneak up on him and take him unawares. "Aren't you enjoying my little party?"

"How is this," He waved his hand to the room. "A little party?"

"Well, little for me." Silver said, leaning on a column, giving Li Ming what he hoped was an alluring smile. "I tried to keep this party as small as I could but there were too many interesting people to invite."

"You have an unusual definition of interesting." Li Ming said dryly, watching yet another fight (maybe the third one that night) break out. "It most certainly is not interesting when someone attempts to assassinate one of your guests. Again."

"Oh?" Silver moved to stand next to him and peer out. "Oh well. It's not the worst thing that could happen. Ask the princeling about the alligators when you get the chance."

"How is an assassination not the worst thing to happen?"

"I repeat. Alligators." Silver said, like it was a rather mundane matter, and not the rather serious sounding event that it actually was. "They made such a mess. I had to get the floors repaired."

"Not to mention the loss of life?"

"I didn't die."

"Obviously." Li Ming said dryly. "I can quite clearly see that you survived it. I'm not blind."  
"If you're not blind, you would have noticed what you are stood underneath. "Look up. Mistletoe." Silver said. Li Ming looked up. "I am sure you know what that means."

"I'm not kissing you. You're a Fae."

"You are just so observant. I will have you know that I am a world class kisser and you would not regret it one bit. I promise." Li Ming rolled his eyes, turned to walk away, and stumbled backward. "Oh, and the mistletoe is enchanted, you can't move from underneath it until you get kissed."

"Release me. Now." Li Ming growled.  
"I don't know how to." Silver said, grinning at him. "I only know that if you want to move anytime soon, you are going to have to kiss me, or convince someone to kiss you."

"Or I could stay here."

"Or you could just stay there, yes." Silver nodded. "But that is a lot less fun, and someone still needs to release you later on or you'll be trapped until the plant dies. It's your choice."

"Just get this over with." Li Ming complained, Silver gave him a toothy grin, teeth a little too sharp. Silver stepped under the mistletoe too, he put his hand against Li Ming's jaw, and very carefully, and very gently, pressed his lips to the Dragon's.

"Happy Christmas." Silver whispered as she stepped back. Li Ming took a couple of steps away from the mistletoe trap.

"For you maybe."

"Was the kiss really that bad?"

"No, it wasn't."


	98. Nightmare

“Shh, it’s okay, you don’t need to cry.”

"I'm not." Li Ming said as he slowly sat up, blearily blinking in the dark of his hotel room, Silver on the other side of his bed. "Ugh, I forgot that you were here." He dropped back into the pillows.

"Ow." Silver muttered. "Do you want me to leave?" He wasn't entirely sure where his clothes had ended up going and it was too dark to easily find them.

"No." Li Ming said, half into his pillow. "You can stay. I'm not sending you out at... Three in the morning?"

"I think it's closer to two." Silver said, squinting at the clock before laying down again, on his back and as far from Li Ming as he could. "I can leave if you want me to, I have no qualms with traipsing London at this time of morning. If you don't want me here."

"Do you want me to admit I wish for you to stay?" Li Ming tiredly asked. "I won't." Silver smirked, before he slid over to Li Ming's side of the massive bed, and pulled him close, Li Ming had put on pyjamas at some point. Lucky for some. Actually, Silver could not remember Li Ming getting up to get dressed at all. But that was neither here nor there.

"That's all the answer that I require," Silver almost purred. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Of a sort." Li Ming responded.

"Tell me about it? Maybe it will help you get back to sleep." Silver said, sliding his hand across Li Ming's hip, the bone angular and obvious on the dragon's slim frame.

"That will not be happening." Li Ming reached his hand over to lace his fingers with those that rested on his hip. Silver smiled, resting his forehead on Li Ming's shoulder, feeling the burning warmth of him through the cotton of his nightshirt.

"Scared of opening up to me?" Silver asked. "I swear that I wouldn't use it against you."

"Its just a bad dream," Li Ming said, "It doesn't matter to me, and it won't to you."

"I loathe to admit it, but you matter to me, so this matters to me." Silver said. "You woke up with such a start, breathing heavy enough to wake me before that." Granted that was because Silver's head had been on Li Ming's chest (it was quite comfortable), but it had woken him nonetheless.

"Worried about not getting enough beauty sleep?"

"I am always beautiful." Silver said with a grin, he propped himself up on his elbow to look down at Li Ming, able to make out his pale features and his almost white hair (fanning out on the pillow an dlooking perfect somehow) in the dull light coming through the window on that side of the room. "Talk to me. Please?"

"You are a terrible gossip and can't keep secrets to save your life, unless your life is being threatened of course." Silver rolled his eyes before he leant down and kissed his temple in a feathery light touch of his lips.

"Suit yourself." He said softly. "I'll be here if you change your mind."


	99. Kiss it better

"Kiss me." Kai muttered. Irene gave him a quick look over.

"You've just had the living daylights beaten out of you." She said softly. "You have a split lip." She ran the pad of her thumb over his swollen lower lip. "I'm fairly certain that a kiss is the last thing that you need right now." She cupped his jaw with both hands and pressed her lips to the purpling bruise on his temple. "That will have to do for now." She said, sitting back on her heels.

Kai was sat up against the headboard in his bedroom, she knelt by his side, a first aid kit open next to her. "Maybe if you kiss me, it'll get better." He said, giving her a smile despite it making his mouth hurt to do so.

"I just kissed a bruise, and low and behold, you still have a bruise." She said. "Nice try though."

"It wouldn't hurt to try again though, would it?"

"It could really hurt you." She said. "Even if I am gentle with you." He shrugged. "Kai, I mean it, you are seriously hurt, you need to be careful whilst you heal."

"I know. That's why I asked you to kiss me." He said, he leant forward and gently touched her cheek with warm fingers, gliding them across to her jaw in a gentle caress that made her skin tingle and a shiver go down her spine. "You're always soft and gentle with me." His hand slid back up her jaw and into her hair. "Like a feather, or maybe you're actually a butterfly. Either way, your touch is so soft and gentle and caring. Like you worry that I may break even when I'm healthy."

"You just bruise so easily." He laughed.

"I do, but I won't break. I'm tough Irene. I can take one of your gentle kisses."

"You're very convincing." She said, sweeping hair out of his eyes and tucking it behind his ear.

"Convincing enough to get a kiss out of it?"

"Nope." She said, sitting back from him. "You are hurt."

"Kiss it all better." He said and she smiled.

"Where does it hurt?" She asked. He put his index finger to his forehead and she kissed just above where his finger was.

"Here." He touched the bridge of her nose and she brushed her lips across his skin. "Here?" He touched his lips. Irene audibly sighed before she put her hand under his chin, and gently touched her lips to his.   
"All better?" She said in a soft voice.

"Not quite." He said. "I think that you need to kiss my lips again, just to make sure."

"Well, if it didn't work the first time, why would it work the second?" She asked, smirking. Kai huffed before he reached out to pull her onto his lap, and kissed her, still gentle but a lot longer than she had kissed him.

"That's better." He said.

"No its not. Your mouth is bleeding."

"Its worth it."


	100. Birthday cake

“But the frosting looks so much more appetizing on your cheek.” Vale paused in wiping the cake frosting off his cheek to stare at Silver. Strongrock and Winters had dropped it off that morning with apologies that they couldn't be around but there was urgent business that they had to see to, leaving him with a cake that he wasn't entirely sure the origin of, it looked to be handmade though neither of them seemed the kind to be capable of making a decent cake (the assumption had been wrong), and nothing to do for the day. How dull.

At least he had cake.

"Do you want for me to break your nose? It would make an excellent birthday gift." Vale said dryly and removed the frosting from his face. Silver just pouted.

"Touchy." Silver said leaning forward to swipe some of the icing off the cake with a finger before he slowly licked it off the digit, maintaining eye contact until Vale cleared his throat and looked away. Silver pulled the finger from his lips with a popping sound. "Hmm. Not bad, I wonder which of them made it, the little mouse doesn't seem the kind for the softer things in life, yet neither does the princeling." He smiled before stealing another bit of frosting, yet again licking it off his finger.

"I can get you a fork if you want some." Vale said. "So you don't have to eat in such a childish manner."

"Wheres the fun in that?" Silver asked. "Besides, I'm doing an experiment, isn't it what you do? Repeat something a couple of times to see if it stays the same, and then change the conditions?"

"Yes." Vale said with a frown. "I hardly see how you are experimenting by licking it off your fingers rather than eating with cutlery."  
"I need to make sure I know how it tastes before seeing if it tastes better when I lick it off you." Silver said in a low purr. He slid his foot under the table to touch it to Vale's, leaning forward to look at him from underneath hooded lids and long lashes.

"Aren't you a little curious?" Vale was well aware that he was blushing when he really wished that he wasn't. Normally he was the kind who could hide such emotional responses, but there was something about Silver that got underneath his skin. And not in the annoying, bad way that he used to do.

"No." He said. "Why would I care if it tastes different on my skin? I'd never need to know that information." He was, however, mildly curious about how the smear of frosting on Silver's upper lip would taste.

Like vanilla, he quickly found out, unable to stop himself from leaning in and kissing himself. Exactly like it had tasted on the cake. "On your skin? Exactly the same."

"My dear Vale, that's not how science works remember?" He scooped up a little to dab on his lips. "We have to repeat the experiment."  
It quickly turned into Vale's favourite experiment, even if the frosting always tasted like vanilla, it some how tasted better when kissed off Silver's lips.


	101. Snapshots

“Were you planning on saying anything?” Vale asked, Irene looked up from her newspaper with a frown on her face, she looked to Kai, who looked just as confused.

“Saying what?” She asked. “I am a little confused.”

“But… You know what, forget that I said anything.” He said. “It doesn’t matter anyway.” Irene leant forward, curiosity overriding everything else now, she needed to know what Vale had been hinting at. If he didn’t want her to ask then he should have kept his mouth shut, he knew that already.

“Tell me what you were thinking about.” She pressed. “Because, clearly, there is something, as you expected us to know… well, something. So, what is the something?”

“I believe that I made a mistake,” Vale said. “And therefore, what I have to say doesn’t really matter, does it?”

* * *

“What do you think Vale was talking about earlier?” Kai asked Irene as they were getting ready for bed. She was sat on the edge of the bed working her brush through her hair so that she could tie it up, knowing that it would be a birds nest if she left it loose whilst they slept. She rarely had a peaceful night sleep, and when she did, Kai didn’t. Tossing and turning and constantly waking up meant that it was impossible to work her fingers through it come morning.

“I don’t have a clue.” She said, setting the brush down on her bedside table, next to a battered copy of Dracula, and began to braid her hair, he sat on the bed behind her and started doing it for her, brushing her fingers away and taking over. “Maybe he thought we had done something and realised that we hadn’t, but I doubt that.”

“He said that it wasn’t important, maybe it is just nothing,” Kai said. “Maybe. I don’t know if I believe him though, he seemed quite surprised when you said that you didn’t know what he was talking about.” He tied the end of the braid off. “Either he’ll need to actually tell us at some point, or we will forget because it genuinely is unimportant.”

“Maybe,” Irene muttered.

* * *

Irene sat back on her heels and slowly exhaled, her throat was burning and her stomach clenched uncomfortably. She swallowed bile as she flushed the toilet and slowly dragged herself to her feet, feeling weak and dizzy but determined to wipe off her mouth and brush her teeth.

Kai knocked on the bathroom door. “Irene, are you okay?” He asked. “I thought I heard you.”

“I think I must have eaten something funny,” Irene said. “I feel quite sick right now.” She wiped her mouth off on a flannel and dropped it into the laundry basket.

“I’ll bring you up some tea, are you going to go back to bed?”

“I think so.” She said. “I feel a bit better now, but I don’t feel great.” She could feel sweat clinging to the back of her neck, and sticking her dress to her spine. “Some tea would be fantastic though, thank you.”

* * *

“You knew, didn’t you?” Irene said, Vale looked up from his work. “You thought that I knew, that’s what you were trying to talk about last month, isn’t it.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” He said.

“You knew that I was pregnant, and you didn’t tell me,” Irene said, crossing her arms. After nearly a month of feeling sick each day, she wasn’t entirely surprised to find herself in the possession of the positive pregnancy test that she had taken that morning. “You knew and said nothing, for a month.”

“Well, Winters, let me start by saying congratulations.” He said.

“Don’t. I don’t even know if I want to have a child yet.” She said, holding out her hand to stop him before he could say anything else. “I found out two hours ago. I still haven’t quite processed it yet. And I definitely don’t know what Kai and I are going to do.” He nodded. “I don’t know if I want to raise a child.”

“Alright,” Vale said in a surprisingly soft voice. “Strongrock knows?” She shook her head. “Okay.”

“I couldn’t tell him.” She said, wrapping her arms around her middle. “I don’t know if he wants children either. Right now, I do not know what to do. I will tell him, I can't keep him in the dark for long, it’ll be impossible to hide after a while.” He nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me, Vale?”

“Would you have believed me if I had told you?” He asked her, leaning forward in his chair. “Would you honestly have preferred that I be the one to tell you that you were expecting before you figured it out yourself?”

“I don’t know.” She said. “I probably would have believed you.”

“You are saying that now, knowing that you are expecting. You aren’t saying that, having suddenly been told it by me before you even showed any signs.” She slowly sat down on the edge of an armchair. “It probably wouldn’t be an easy thing to hear and believe. I thought you already knew, or I would never have said anything.”

* * *

“Irene? Are you home?” Kai called, pulling his coat off and hanging it up before he kicked off his shoes and started to see if she was somewhere in the dark house, possibly absorbed in a book and unable to hear him.

Or, as it turns out, asleep on the sofa, an open book balanced on her stomach, she’d clearly been reading before she had dozed off, waiting for him to get home. He chuckled when he saw her, the light still on and half a cup of tea was left undrunk. “Irene?” She didn’t stir. “That cannot be comfortable.”

He slipped a bookmark in between the pages and left the book on the side for her to pick up in the morning. He flicked the light off, before carefully picking her up into his arms. Her head lulled against his shoulder and as he carried her up the stairs, he watched her eyes flicker open before she softly groaned.

“Go back to sleep.” He said softly.

“I was waiting up for you.” She complained, voice thick with sleep. “I needed to talk to you.”

“I am sure it can wait for the morning.” He said. “Go back to sleep.” He carefully lay her on her side of the bed and pulled her dressing gown off, before helping her under the covers. She was still half asleep, trying to resist his efforts. “Irene, just go to bed, we can talk when you are more awake.”

“No.” She said, pushing his hands away. “I’ll lose the nerve if I wait.” Kai frowned, before sitting down next to her and linking his fingers with hers.

“What is it?” He asked. “Is something wrong? Is this about whatever is making you sick?”

“I’m pregnant, Kai.” She whispered. “I… we’re going to have a baby, and I don’t know what to do.” Kai found himself unable to breathe, just staring at Irene with wide eyes, his brain spinning out of his control.

_A baby? Them, parents?_

“It’s going to be okay, ‘Rene.” He said softly. “I promise, it will all be okay. Go to sleep, we’ll talk about this in the morning, I’ll be here for you, every step of the way.”

* * *

Irene woke up with Kai’s arms still around her, his hand on her hips, fingers brushing against her stomach, still flat. If she hadn’t told him, he would have had no idea that she was going to have a baby. He shifted, pressing himself close to her back. “Kai?”

“I’m awake.” He said softly before he kissed the back of her shoulder. “I’m still here. I am not going anywhere.”

“You may not be going anywhere, but I am going to vomit in a minute, let me go, please.” He released her and she shot out of the bed to run to the bathroom.

He cringed, hearing her throwing up, and he got out of the bed and pulled on his dressing-gown, before he grabbed her’s from where he had dropped it the night before, and slowly followed her.

Irene had kicked the door shut, but she hadn’t locked it. Kai nudged it open so that he could sit on the floor with her. He put the dressing gown down for her to put on when she wanted it, and swept her hair out of her face and out of the way, trying not to grimace as he flicked a piece of vomit off it, and tied it up with one of the many loose hairbands that they left laying around.

He rubbed her back, slow circles between her shoulders until Irene slumped back against him with a groan. “Oh god.” She muttered, before flushing the toilet. “Can you pass me a washcloth?” He draped the dressing gown around her shoulders before standing up to wet a cloth and gave it to her.

“How do you feel?” He softly asked. “Do you need anything?”

“A glass of water, some dry toast, and to go back to bed for another hour.” She said. “And to brush my teeth, that one is at the top of the list.” He helped her to her feet. “Thank you. And then we need to talk.”

“I’ll make you some tea and toast.” He said. “We can talk after you have got some more sleep.” Irene had to lean quite heavily on the sink, her legs felt like they were made out of rubber, refusing to obey her and making her stagger instead of step. “I’ve got you.” He wrapped his arm around her hips so that she could lean against him in order to clean herself up without falling down.

* * *

 Irene sat up against the pillows, Kai sat at the end of the bed, silently staring at his hands. They had both so desperately wanted to discuss the baby, and yet when they sat down to do it, neither of them could find the words. Kai kept opening his mouth to try and speak, but then shutting it again and falling silent.

She sighed and shut her eyes. “I don’t know if I am ready to have a baby.” She said quietly. “I have never thought about it, about having a baby. Kai, this is the first relationship that I have been in for years where… Where I have been able to picture a future.”

“What does your image of the future hold?” He asked.

“You, and me.” She said. “I have never even thought of having a baby somewhere in the picture. I thought that I would be too old by the time I found someone to settle down with, if I ever settled down. What do you think your future would hold?”

“I do want to have children.” He said. “But I thought that… that maybe we would sit down and talk about this a couple of years in the future, not today. But I do want children. I would like to have a baby with you.”

“I don’t know what I want.” She said. “I… I think I need a few more days to get my head around this and decide what I want.” He nodded.

“I understand,” Kai said. “I think I need to go for a walk and clear my head.” She nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

* * *

The house smelt of fresh bread, tomato and garlic. Kai dropped his keys on the side and set his bag down. “Irene?” He called out. “I’m back. Can we talk?”

“I’m in the kitchen.” She replied. “Are you hungry? I cooked dinner. It’s nearly done.” He stepped into the kitchen, it was heavenly warm in the kitchen compared to the frigid London air. Irene was at the stove, stirring a pot of tomato sauce.

There was a pregnancy book on the table.

“I see you have been doing some thinking.” He said, tapping his fingers on the book. “I am sorry I was away for a few days. I didn’t want to be around you in the mood that I was in, it wouldn’t be fair to put that on you.”

“It’s fine.” She said. “I think we both needed some time apart to think about this pregnancy.” He nodded even though she had her back to him. “I think I finally have got my head around all of this. Around… having a baby.”

“You have decided that you want to keep it?” Kai asked. Irene nodded and he grinned. “That’s good. That’s really good.” He walked around the small kitchen table and slid his arms around her, and kissed the side of her head. “I should have told you that I love you before I left. I love you, Irene. I really do, and I’ll love our baby too.”

“I love you too.” She said softly. “I don’t think this is going to be easy by any means. I think this is going to be really hard and I don’t know how to even look after a baby, even if I clearly know how to make them.” He snorted.

“I think we both are.” He said. “We can do this, together.”

* * *

Irene muttered complaints to herself as she struggled to button up the back of her dress. Kai sat on their bed, watching her and trying not to laugh at her. Eventually, she huffed and gave up, dropping her hands to her stomach.

“Well.” She said softly. “I think our brat is working a number on my figure. I cannot get my dress to do up.” He laughed aloud, drawing her glare before he got out of the bed and standing behind her, carefully doing the buttons of her dress up, gracing his finger up her spine as he went, making her shiver.

“One, you were just struggling because the buttons on this dress are small and fiddly.” He said, doing the top button up. “Two, brat?” She smiled, running her hand over the swell of the small baby bump. “Three, and please do not take this the wrong way, but I like the way you look right now, pregnant with my baby.” His fingers brushed across her stomach to lace his fingers with hers. “You are beautiful.”

“Fat.”

“Pregnant.”

* * *

“Well, aren’t you positively… glowing.” Silver said with a purr. He grabbed Irene’s hand and kissed her knuckles before she could yank her hand away. “Of all of the things that I expected, to find you expecting is not one of them.”

“Well, I am not exactly going around and shouting it from the rooftops,” Irene replied, pulling her hand out of his grip and stepping back before she tightened her coat around herself, hiding the baby bump from prying eyes.

“And may I ask for the name of the father of your child?” Silver queried. “Though I suppose you don’t need me to tell you. It is clearly the princelings. Pass on my congratulations to him.” He paused. “Unless it is the detectives. In which case, fair play to you for having both of them. Having your cake and quite clearly… eating it too.”

“Was that a fat joke?”

* * *

  “How does she fall asleep so easily?” Vale asked, looking at Irene. She had folded her arms and rested them on the sofa arm, before resting her head on top of them and falling asleep, softly snoring. Kai smiled at her.

“She has been quite tired for the past week or so.” He explained, tucking hair behind her ear. “She falls asleep almost as soon as she is in bed right now, normally she tosses and turns. It’s nice to see her sleeping so well. Even if she does snore a little bit.”

Vale took his normal seat, Kai would have sat next to Irene, but instead, he left her in peace to sleep, rearranging her skirts a little bit before sitting on the other armchair in Vale’s cluttered study. They had been working on a case, but Irene had returned to the flat to wait for them when she started flagging.

She tired easily, her pregnancy obvious at five months. She found her back and shoulders were usually sore too, her feet sometimes too. She found herself dozing off in all sorts of places, usually in the sitting room, but sometimes she did drag herself off to bed before she fell asleep. Kai had found himself talking to her sleeping form several times, unaware that she had even fallen asleep halfway through the conversation.

“She fell asleep at her desk yesterday,” Kai said. “Apparently it’s pretty common for pregnant women to tire easily. It isn’t too bad though, I do get some peace and quiet.” Irene loudly inhaled. “Sort of.”

* * *

“Your brat keeps kicking me in the kidneys,” Irene said, rubbing her back, digging her knuckles in as much as she could to try and relieve the tight pain in her back muscles.

“How come they are only mine when they are doing that?” Kai asked, crawling across the bed to sit behind her, and working out the knots in her back with his long fingers. “Does this feel better?” She nodded.

“Thank you.” She said. “It helps a lot. And they are yours when they are kicking me in the kidneys because I never go around kicking people in the kidneys.”

“Actually, you do, remember? You just can't right now, what with the being seven months pregnant thing.” Kai pointed out, before prodding her in the side, just below her ribcage, a spot that he knew was particularly ticklish. She tried to squirm away from him and his reach but he wrapped an arm around her and held her tight to his side. “Running away?”

“Yes, you are a monster.” She said with a peal of laughter. “Let up Kai, I can't bre-eath. Please.” She begged, trying to desperately grab his hands and hold him away, she could feel the baby still kicking. She caught hold of his wrist and made him put the flat of his hand against the curve of her stomach.

He stopped immediately and grinned. “Hello, baby.” He said softly, before sliding off the sofa to sit on the floor. He leant forward and pressed his lips to where he could feel the baby. “Are you giving your mother a hard time?” Irene smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. “I can't wait to meet you and get to hold you. I love you so much already, you mean the world to me. You and your mother.”

He’d speak to the baby whenever they were moving quite a lot, sing old lullabies that Irene didn’t know, or tell them just how much he loved them, and that he couldn’t wait to hold them.

It had brought her to tears on more than one occasion. Her body was flooded with a myriad of hormones, many of which left her with burning eyes and the threat of spilt tears, whether it was because of something good or bad.

Kai always smiled and pulled out his handkerchief to dry her face for her, before he would kiss her forehead, and tell her just how much he meant to her. “You mean the world to me, Irene.” Whispered as he pressed his cheek to hers. “You are the most important person in the world and I could bever begin to scratch the surface of how much I love you, even if I told you every single day for the rest of our lives.”

* * *

“Do I waddle?” Irene asked. Kai snorted. “Seriously?”

“I mean, you do. A little bit.” Kai said. “You kind of waddle. But only when you are tired, really.” Irene sighed and ran her hand across her stomach.

“I am just so fat right now.” Irene huffed. “I…” She swallowed before leaning her head on Kai’s shoulder. He tried to hug her but there was far too much baby in her for a tight embrace. “See? You cant even hug me properly.”

“Yes, because you are carrying our baby.” He said. “Look at you Irene, you are absolutely beautiful. You are so strong and I love you so much.” He moved his hands to set them on her stomach, smiling when he felt the baby kicking. “I think that you have never been more beautiful than you have been.”

“You are just being nice to make me feel better.”

“I am telling the truth, Irene. I love you. I love our baby. And I think that you are absolutely perfect. Even if you were just fat, I would think that you were perfect. The fact that you are carrying my baby is honestly making you so damn attractive because it shows how much you love me back.”

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him. “Thank you.” She said. “I love you.” He kissed her, cupping her jaw and holding her as close to him as he could before he pulled back and sighed.

“There has got to be easier ways to kiss you.” He said. “Bed?”

“In the middle of the day?”

“Why not? I can kiss you and you can have a nap afterwards, you need it.”

* * *

Irene pursed her lips as she tried to decide what she wanted to have for lunch, what sounded good also sounded really strange. And she was fairly certain that they didn’t have peanut butter _and_ pickles in the cupboard.

They had almond butter because Kai liked it, and cucumber because she had wanted salad the day before. It wasn’t quite what she wanted, but it was pretty damn close to it.

Vale stared at her, sat on the kitchen counter eating almost butter out of the jaw with a piece of cucumber. He stood stock-still in the doorway. She paused, before taking another bite of the cucumber.

“Can I help you?” She asked after swallowing. She grabbed another piece of cucumber.

“What on earth are you eating?”

“Cucumber.” She said. “With almond butter. Would you like some? It is actually surprisingly good. I wanted pickles and peanut butter, but we didn’t have that in.” He looked disgusted, which was saying something since he regularly kept body parts in the kitchen.

“I would rather not.” He said. “I am presuming that this is a pregnancy craving?”

“I hope so.” She said. “Because, let’s be honest, it is a weird thing to be eating.” She dug a large amount of the almond butter out of the jaw and licked it off the cucumber stick, before eating that as well. “Good. But really weird.

* * *

Irene was pacing the cluttered space of Vale’s study. He and Kai were off working with inspector Singh and she was begging every deity out there that they would be home soon.

Because she was fairly certain that the cramps that she was experiencing were not false labour or Braxton hicks, but instead genuine labour pains, contractions that were snatching her breath from her and making her gasp in pain when she had the breath to make a noise.

She leant on the back of the couch, trying to take a deep breath and struggling.

_It hurt._

She shut her eyes, dropping her head and groaning in pain. Someone knocked on the study door and pushed it open. “Miss Winters, are you alright?” The pain was making Irene’s eyes burn with tears that she was struggling to hold back. She pressed her knuckles to her mouth, digging her teeth into them. “Miss Winters?” The housekeeper touched her arm. “I think you need to sit down, I’ll send for a doctor, and misters Vale and Strongrock.”

“Thank you.” Irene managed to force out, before she gasped, the contraction strong enough to make her want to curse, and also swear off ever having sex again. The housekeeper bustled her off to the second bedroom, finding her the nightdress and promising that she’d return with a cup of tea once she had sent word.

* * *

The lights were blazing bright when Kai and Vale returned, Kai’s heart was in his throat as he scrambled out of the cab and raced into the house, leaving Vale to pay the cabbie.

The housekeeper was in the kitchen and she came out when she heard the door open. “Thank goodness you’re here.” She said. “Miss Winters is in the second bedroom with a doctor, you are lucky that your baby hasn’t made their arrival yet.”

Kai took the stairs two at a time, knocking twice on the door to the spare room and entering.

Irene was laying on the bed, sweat sticking her hair to her forehead and the back of her neck. Her chest was heaving as she gasped for air. “Kai.” She managed to smile when she saw him, before crying out in pain.

He was at her side in an instant, grabbing her hands and squeezing them tightly. “I’m here Irene.” He said softly. “I’m here. I love you.” He looked at the doctor. “How is she doing?”

“Fully dilated, I can see the babe’s head.” The doctor said with a nod. “She’s doing really well.” Kai ran his fingers through Irene’s hair, wishing that he could do something to take the pain away from her, watching her strain and almost scream in pain was enough to make his heartbreak. He pressed his lips to her forehead.

“You can do this.” He murmured, resting his cheek against Irene’s to speak in a low voice. “You’re nearly there. We are going to be holding our baby soon. Come on, you can do this.” She nodded, wincing in pain.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to cry out again. Kai kept whispering to her, sweet nothings that were completely lost on her as she squeezed his hands tight enough to make them hurt as she pushed with all of her strength.

She shouted and went limp, her breathing slowing, tears trickled down her cheeks as she shut her eyes. “Irene?” Kai said softly, touching her cheek. “Irene?” He turned to the doctor.

Who was holding their baby.

“It’s a boy.” The doctor said, cutting the cord before wrapping the baby, crying loudly, up in a blanket. Kai kissed Irene’s forehead, her eyes flickered, before getting up and holding his arms out for the baby.

“Irene, look, it’s our son.” He said softly, sitting down on the bed, she had to force her eyes open to keep from passing out. “Look, he’s got your eyes. Irene?”

“I want to hold him.” She said, barely managed to speak. “I need to.” The doctor helped sit Irene up, she winced in pain, unable to stop herself. Kai carefully lay him in her arms. Irene pressed her lips to the babe’s head. “Oh, Kai…” She said softly. “Our baby boy.”

* * *

“Vale.” Kai was smiling, he just couldn’t help it, as he emerged from the second bedroom. He held his son tightly wrapped up in a thick blanket, he brushed his fingers across the baby’s cheek. “We have a son.”

“I’d offer you a drink, but I think your arms are full. Winters?” Vale said, getting up to join him, just outside the door to the spare room. “How is she doing.”

“Exhausted. The doctor is just checking her over, but she seems to be fine. And the baby is just perfect.” Kai said, in complete rapture as he looked down at the baby, fast asleep now that he had been fed and wrapped up. “They are both doing really well.”

“Do you have a name for him?” Vale asked curiously, wondering if they would have gone with a western name, probably of Winters choosing, or if Kai would have preferred a name from China.

“Ao Hai.” He said with a nod. “It means sea, we don’t know if he will take after me, he is half Irene after all.” He smiled. “I just cannot get over how perfect he is. And Irene. She’s so strong.” He looked up at Vale. “Would you like to hold him?”

“May I?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want you to,” Kai said with a smirk. “Here.” Vale’s eyes widened as he was given the baby to hold. He smiled, a bright smile that Kai was fairly certain that he hadn’t ever seen Vale smile like that before.

Vale cleared his throat. Wanting to say something, but completely unsure of what there was to say. “Congratulations.” He finally settled on. “I’m so happy for you, both of you.”

* * *

 “Hush little baby, don’t say a word.” Irene softly sang, rocking back and forth on the rocking chair tucked into the corner of the nursery. “Papa’s going to buy you a mocking bird. And if that mocking bird won't sing, papa’s going to buy you a diamond ring.” Kai smiled, listening to Irene singing Hai to sleep. “And if that diamond ring turns to brass, papa’s going to buy you a looking glass.”

“I didn’t know you could sing,” Kai said, watching as Hai yawned and stretched and went back to sucking on his fist as he fell asleep. “You have got a beautiful voice.” She smiled.

“I have a voice for lullabies and singing in the shower.” She said before she kissed Hai’s head. “Do you want to put him in his crib?” Kai took Hai from her, he was already fast asleep, but Kai kissed him anyway. “I could do with an early night I think.”

“I think you more than deserve it,” Kai said. “If you want to go ahead, I’ll join you soon, I just want to grab a quick shower first.”

Kai had fallen asleep with Irene in his arms every day for months now. Every day since the day he’d come back home and they had sat down and talked about the baby over pasta and garlic bread. That night was no different. He kissed the top of her head. “I love you, Irene.”

“I love you, Kai.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still taking requests for really long prompt responses if anyone wants to check out the last chapter, pick a prompt and drop it on me for 5k of any ship and scenario


	102. First date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This follows on from chapter 85: wedding date

 

Vale dropped his bag by the door and started peeling off the layers of his outer wear, gloves, scarf, coat and woolly hat, before he kicked off his boots, wet and muddied with the grey sludge, all that remained of the London snow. “Kai? Are you home?” He called, rubbing his hands together to try and work some warmth back into his icy cold fingers. “Irene?”

The was a thump. “Vale?” Another thump and then a door being opened before Irene, still dressed in her pyjamas, poked her head out of Kai’s bedroom, he could still a half-dressed Kai in the bed through the doorway. “We were beginning to worry where you were, you said you’d be home by midnight.”

“I ended up getting the last train to London. Why are you still in pyjamas?”

“It’s ten-thirty on a Sunday where neither Kai and I have to work. Why on earth would we get up and dressed before we had to.” She said, Kai threw her dressing gown and she pulled it on and wrapped it around herself before tightly tying it. “So, how was the wedding? Was Silver a good date?” Vale didn’t mean to blush, but he did anyway. “I need to know everything. Let me get dressed and then I’ll make coffee.”

“I thought you didn’t like gossip.”

“She may not. But I do.” Kai said, finally getting out of bed, he slid his arm around Irene’s hip and kissed her temple. “Alright. Clothes, coffee and Vale can spill all of the details, because I do believe that I spy a love bite on your neck.” Vale glared at him. "Fine, I take it that your sense of humour isn't working yet."

* * *

“May I have this dance?” Silver had put the bouquet of flowers down somewhere and had managed to sneak up on Vale, somehow. Vale nearly spilt his whiskey all over the place. He managed to carefully set it down before he turned to face Silver. He flicked his eyes to the band currently playing a slow melody.

“Just one.” Vale said, knowing that Silver would all but beg for the rest of the night if he said no, and it was easier to give him what he wanted straight away, rather than listen to the begging all night. And maybe… maybe it would be nice.

As it was, Silver was a superb dancer, even if it was a little awkward, both of them wanting to lead. Most of the people attending his sister’s wedding weren’t properly dancing and instead they were just swaying in time to the music, and that kind of worked. “So,” Silver said softly. “So, where are we now?”

“A delightful little manor house just outside of Bath.” Vale said. “They turned it into a hotel and wedding venue about twenty-five years ago. Where you not paying attention when we drove up here. Or when I told you?”

“I know that much.” Silver said. “I meant us. Where are we?”

“I don’t know right now.” Vale admitted. “I mean… Until today I hadn’t quite grappled with how I felt.” Silver smirked. “I still don’t quite know how I feel. I need to take things slowly, if that’s alright with you?”

“My dear Peregrine.” Silver said, stopping the dancing to clasp Vale’s hands in his, he brought them to his lips and brushed a kiss across the back of his knuckles. Vale felt a soft blush across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. “Honestly, I would do anything to make you happy right now, even if things were to move at a snail’s pace, I would be happy with it. As much as I want to take you up to the room right now.” Vale took a step backward. “I would rather do what makes you happy.”

“Thank you.” Vale said with a soft smile. “Really. I am… not the best with personal relationships.”

“I don’t think you have had a single partner the entire time that we had worked together.” Silver said. “Or you are a very, very private person.”

“Very private.” Vale said with a nod. “I don’t like to be open about this kind of thing, I like to keep things quiet and private. Is that alright with you? I know that you like to be more open about your… relationships.” Or affairs; one-night stands; passionate flings; boyfriends, girlfriends and date mates. They never really lasted too long, and Vale doubted that he would either.

* * *

“You did what?” Kai asked Vale over his coffee cup. Irene was nearly laughing, it was something just like out of some of the trashier romance novels that they shelved in the library.  “I mean, I know we made jokes, but I really didn’t think that was actually going to happen.”

“Are you going to go out on a proper date?” Irene pressed.

“We could do a double date.” Kai said. “Oh! We could do one of those escape rooms together.”

“I think you are getting ahead of yourself.” Irene chided Kai. “Well, are you going to go on an actual date?”

* * *

“Let me take you out for dinner.” Silver said softly as he led Vale away from the dance floor. “You promised me that already. We’ll go to that place near work that I know you like, or maybe try somewhere neither of us have before.”

“How about coffee first?” Vale said. “During our work break next Friday. Then… dinner, if we still want to, after that.” Silver smiled, and softly touched his cheek.

“Of course.” Silver said. “Like I said, I want to go slowly, if that is what you want.” Vale’s heart was beating unusually fast and he could feel himself blushing yet again. He swallowed, his mouth was dry, and he felt nervous. He was waiting for it to come crashing down on him, but Silver’s hand was warm on his cheek and despite instinct telling him to withdraw, he leant into the touch and couldn’t help but smile at Silver.

“Thank you.” Vale’s voice was hushed and a little hoarse. He cleared his throat. “I… didn’t realise that you paid enough attention to me for you to know to say that.” Silver tilted his head back as he laughed, Vale’s mother shot daggers at him.

“Oh sweetheart.” Silver said, clearly bouncing from one pet name to the next as he tired to find something sickeningly sweet to call Vale, none of them seemed to quite fit the man. “Dearest, I am utterly infatuated with you. I think you are the only being in the entire world that manages to make me nervous.”

* * *

“That sounds… more romantic than I thought Silver was capable of.” Kai said. “But it does sound like he genuinely cares about you. Good, I would have to pay him a visit and… knock a bit of sense into him.” Irene prodded him in the shoulder, and he batted her hand away. “Seriously, if he does anything, I will hurt him, if you want me to.”

“I don’t want you to hurt him.” Vale said, and then suddenly felt a wave of self-consciousness, purely based off the way that Irene and Kai were both looking at him. “Stop it.” He refilled his coffee cup and splashed some milk in and a spoonful of sugar. “I mean, stop looking at me like that. I don’t want you to hurt him. We’re going out for coffee on Friday, and then maybe dinner next week, if everything goes well.”

“That sounds nice.” Irene said. “Taking things slow?” Vale nodded. “Good. You get a date, Kai stops telling me about the intolerable sexual tension, we all win.”

“Do you need condoms?” Kai said. “I have plenty in my bedside table. It is much better to be safe than sorry.” Vale flushed scarlet.

* * *

“Your mother is staring at us.” Silver said, he put his hand on Vale’s shoulder and leant in close to whisper into Vale’s ear. “Laugh like I said something funn- oh.” He stopped talking when Vale kissed his cheek. “Or do that. Please, do that again, I liked that.” His hand was still on Vale’s shoulder, his other hand settled on Vale’s waist.

“Maybe later.” Vale said softly before he looked around the ballroom. “I know I have to be polite and stay around, but this is not my idea of fun.” His shoulders slumped, Silver threw his arm around Vale’s shoulder and leant on him, before smiling, they were relatively equal in height, Silver was maybe an inch or so taller, so when Vale turned his head, their lips were nearly touching.

“Mine neither.” Silver said. “Everyone is too sober. Can we get your mother incredibly drunk? Please? It would be so entertaining and so embarrassing for her.”

“I think that my sister would murder me for that.” Vale said. “I prefer writing about murders, not being the victim.” Silver laughed loudly and looked around the room.

“Could we get incredibly drunk?” He asked, turning to Vale again, his eyes were bright and nearly sparkling, they were filled with utter joy, Vale wondered if it was him that was managing to make Silver so happy, or if it was the several glasses of whiskey that they had imbibed in before dancing.

“There is an open bar, and I fully believe that it is because my sister knew that I would need a lot of alcohol to get through this.” Vale said. Silver was soft and warm, and he let himself fully lean against him, Silver posted enough gym and shirtless selfies on Instagram that Vale knew that he could support his own weight. Vale didn’t use Instagram, but Kai and Irene did.

Kai’s Instagram ranged from borderline gourmet meals that he managed to whip up, photographs from the latest fashion shows that he had been invited to, and pictures of him and Irene. Irene’s own was pictures of book covers, her book shelves and the occasional picture she took without Kai or Vale realising, revealing slices of domesticity in the tiny flat. Vale had an account, but he had never posted a picture on there and wasn’t even entirely sure that he could recall the password, Irene and Kai were his only followers.

Silver was constantly posting pictures, from pictures of his coffee and croissant breakfasts, to the avocado toast brunch. There were the shirtless gym selfies that revealed toned muscles that were glistening with a post work-out sweat, or post dip in the pool. Then photos from work events as well, mainly restaurants that he had written reviews on, teeny tiny plates of food that probably cost ten times the price of a McDonalds burger; not that Vale regularly ate McDonalds, but sometimes it was the only thing open when he finally stopped editing at three in the morning and needed something to eat.

Silver had taken a few pictures at the wedding, mainly of the centre pieces and the bouquet that had smacked him in the face, and the selfie that he had taken, much to Vale’s chagrin, or them together just before the wedding. He had captioned it ‘This is going to be rather odd. #wedding #suits #fakedating’

He had also refused Vale’s pleas for him to delete it when he got a message off Kai, it had clearly been Irene on his phone since Kai never used punctuation, telling him that they looked fantastic and that he should really learn how to smile because he looked miserable. He just didn’t like to be in photos and he’d only been in the wedding photos because his sister had threatened him.

* * *

“I don’t need condoms.” Vale said quietly. “We are taking things slowly, condoms have a use by date, and I really don’t want to be having this conversation.”

“Their use by date is usually several years in the future.” Kai pointed out. “Which would be taking things very, very, very slow.” Irene poked Kai in the side and he turned to her. “Do you just want me to not give away our stash of them? Or- Stop poking me like that, it tickles! Fine, fine, I’ll drop it.” He held up his hands in surrender. “It is better to be safer that- Ow! Woman stop poking me!”

“Call me woman again and you’ll be sleeping on the sofa tonight.” Irene softly said with a sweet smile. Kai slowly nodded, and they turned back to Vale. “Where were we? Before we got derailed by Kai?”

“We are going out for coffee, during our break on Friday.” Vale said, he was beginning to regret telling his two friends anything about the wedding, though they had been the ones who had talked him into inviting Silver in the first place, so they probably would have pestered him until he either told them or lost his temper. And he and Kai worked together anyway, he would never have been able to keep it covered up.

“That’s a good first date.” Irene said.

“Where was your first date?” Vale curiously asked.

“We went to the cinema.” Kai said. “I took her to watch one of the new starwars films. We spent the majority of the date in the dark, unable to speak to each other. Coffee is probably a better first date.” Irene glared at him out of the corner of her eye. “Not that it wasn’t an enjoyable date, but in my opinion, being able to actually talk is probably better. And also, I didn’t like the film.”

* * *

It was late when people finally started drifting away from the wedding party. They hadn’t bothered to book hotel rooms, Vale’s original plan had been to leave early and get the train back to London, but Silver had made it surprisingly fun, it had been quite enjoyable. And those kisses… he’d have stayed for as long as Silver had wanted to keep drinking if he’d get more kisses from him.

They had to call a taxi to take them to the nearest train station, neither of them drove (who drove when you lived in London?) and they had drunk far too much to get behind the wheel anyway. Vale would not have considered himself drunk, despite the whiskey and wine and champagne, _lots_ of whiskey.

He felt pleasantly warm and soft inside, though that may have been Silver’s presence doing that to him. He was certain that it wasn’t Silver’s presence that was making his vision a little blurry, that was sleep deprivation and alcohol. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation though, and when Silver squeezed his fingers, he felt a warmth flood through his chest and into his throat, and he squeezed Silver’s hand back.

* * *

“Vale, I am leaving for work!” Kai shouted. “Are you ready to go yet?” Vale reached for his suit jacket and pulled it on, smoothing the lapels out before he adjusted his tie and reached for his normal bag, it held his laptop, a few notebooks and lots of jumbled up papers that he was sure did have a use, he just wasn’t sure what the use was, or when he would need them.

“Just a minute!” Vale called, he nervously ran his hand through his hair, by the time he was actually on the date, his hair would be a mess. That would have to do, it was unlike him to care too much about his appearance, as long as he was neat and looked relatively smart, then he was happy with the way that he looked.

He stepped out of his bedroom. Kai looked him up and down and wrinkled his nose. “I do not like this new cologne.” He said. “I do like the suit though. Are you ready to go?”

“I think so?” Vale said. Kai arched a brow. It wasn’t like him to be so unsure either. “yes. Yes I am.” He forced firmness into his voice and tried to forget his nerves. It had been a long time since he had been on a date, probably a year or so since the last one. And thinking about Silver was setting butterflies aflutter in his stomach. He couldn’t remember a time where that had happened.

“Good, let’s go.” Irene had left an hour previously, he’d heard the front door shut whilst he was in the shower, so he locked the door after them, she had a key to let herself back in if she finished work before they did, Kai worked odd hours so sometimes she was back first, sometimes it was him, or sometimes Kai hadn’t even left yet because he was shooting an event in the evening.

“You don’t need to come in with me.” Vale said.

“I have editing that needs being done by tonight and if I try to work from home, even with the deadline, I think we both know that nothing will get done and I will watch Netflix until Irene gets home and makes me work.” He shrugged as they started walking to the nearest underground station. “Besides, you look like you need the support.”

“You want to know how it goes as soon as I get back, don’t you?”

“Irene wants me to text her when I see you afterwards.” Kai confessed quite joyfully. “She did tell me not to pester you too much if it doesn’t end well, she’ll do that tonight, and ply you with brandy.”

“She does always have good liquor.” Vale muttered under his breath as he pulled out his oyster card and tapped through the gates at the station, Kai tried to follow but it flashed up that the card was empty. He huffed. “I’ll wait over there.” Vale said, nodding his head to the side of the entry hall, so that Kai could see him even with the streaming tourists and workers as they entered and exited the station in droves.

* * *

“What do you want to drink?” Vale asked Silver before Silver could ask him, and probably throw him off with something flirtatious. Silver smiled and ran a finger up the outside of Vale’s arm. Vale suppressed a shiver, he didn’t even need to speak to make Vale choke on his nervousness.  He forced the butterflies back into his stomach and out of his throat.

“Oh, you don’t need to do that.” Silver said.

“I want to though.” Vale replied, he twitched his shoulder. “Why don’t you find us somewhere to sit, and I can order us our drinks.” That would give him a couple of minutes to pull himself together again.

“Alright.” Silver gave him a toothy smile, he had surprisingly sharp looking teeth. “Hmm, I am not sure. Something caramel? Why don’t you surprise me? I always like to try something new.” Vale nodded, he already knew that Silver liked his coffee to taste more like sugar and cream than he did coffee.

“Coffee?” Vale asked.

“Like I said, surprise me.” The cafes still had their winter drinks on the menu, what with it being very early January, Vale searched his memories to remember what they had that contained caramel and settled on the salted caramel hot chocolate. “Thank you.” He kissed Vale’s cheek, his lips were soft against his skin and Vale could feel a blush erupting where they had touched him. “I’ll be in the seats by the window.”

By the time he was at the front of the queue he had managed to recover from the surprise kiss and Silver’s flirtations, and ordered without tripping over his words, a black coffee for him, and the sickeningly sweet hot chocolate (with whipped cream) for Silver. He handed over the cash and moved to the side whilst he waited for his order, sweeping his eyes over the people in the relatively large café.

There were a few other couples sat around tables, and a pair that were curled up together on a worn leather sofa tucked away in a back corner. One couple were feeding each other mouthfuls of chocolate cake in a nauseatingly sweet display of affection. There were people in business suits, on their breaks like him and Silver, bankers in over priced suits loudly talking into their mobile phones, pretending to be a lot more important than they actually were. One woman was reading a book, ignoring the rest of the world with her ears plugged with headphones and a cup of tea slowly cooling in front of her.

“How has your day been?” Vale asked as he slid Silver his drink. Silver’s eyes appreciated the cup of hot chocolate before flicking up to Vale and giving him that damned smile that made Vale feel a warmth flood through his body and was probably the whole reason why he had kissed him in the first place.

“Better now.” Silver said before taking a sip of his drink, he got whipped cream on his upper lip and nose. “This is really good. What is it?”

“A salted caramel hot chocolate. Your dentist must make a fortune.”

“I am very good at brushing my teeth.” Silver said. “Let me guess, you have a black coffee.”

“That I do.” Vale said, picking up his cup. “I know what I like.”

“So then, tell me what you like.” Silver purred, dropping his voice to a low whisper as he slid his foot over to Vale’s, brushing his toes over his, and then up the inside of his shin. “Other than black coffee and kissing under the mistletoe. What are you looking for in a partner?”

“I am not.” Vale said, fighting his urge to pull himself away from Silver’s gentle touches. “I don’t… I don’t really know what I am looking for because it has been a long time since I have been looking for someone. A few dates here or there, but either they don’t like how dedicated I am to my work, or I think that they are boring and end things after a couple of dates.” Silver nodded.

“Do you want to be in a relationship?”

“I do not know.” Vale said, shaking his head. “I don’t like going out on dates if I am being honest, I would rather stay in and order take out than go out to a fancy restaurant full of people pretending to be more important than they actually are.” Silver laughed.

“Part of my job involves going to those fancy restaurants.” He said.

“That’s your job, to go there and write about the food and the atmosphere. I can’t stand the people who go there for the sake of being able to say that they were there.” Vale said. “People who pretend to be something that they are not, I prefer honesty.”

“So that is something you like in a partner? Honesty?” Vale pondered that for a moment, before giving him a small nod. “That’s a start.”

“What do you look for?”

“Someone that I can enjoy spending time with.” Silver said. “I do like going out for drinks and to parties and that kind of thing, I understand that it isn’t for everyone, but someone who comes with me because I want to go would be nice, and I would be willing to do what they want to do as well.” Vale wasn’t too sure about the parties, but that was a reasonable thing to expect from a partner, it was logical and fair.

“That I think I can understand.” He said. “Even if my idea of a good time does involve true crime documentaries and take out.”

 “Oh, I like the ones about the serial killers.” Silver said. “Especially the unsolved ones.” Vale smiled, already thinking of a date that involved a documentary and take out Chinese food, but maybe that was getting a little too far ahead of himself, he wasn’t sure how he felt about Silver being in his home, especially when he lived with Kai and Irene, who could be incredibly nosey at times.

Speaking of…

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He ignored it, and it did it again. “Sorry.” He said, pulling the phone out, and putting it onto do not disturb. It was Irene. She wanted to know if he was ok. She could wait. He put the phone away again and looked up to Silver, who looked quite amused. “Irene. I do regret giving her my number at times.”

“Strongrock’s girlfriend? I think I have seen her at a few events before.” Vale nodded. “She sat in the corner and read the entire time.”

“Probably.” Vale said. “That does sound a lot about her, she loves her books, works in a library.”

“Ah, I thought that she was the bookish kind, the opposite of Strongrock.”

“No, he is too.” Vale said, shaking his head. “But I believe that they say that opposites attract. And I do think that we are opposites a lot of the time.” That somehow managed to make Silver blush a little bit.

“Are you saying that you are attracted to me?”

“Look at the evidence Silver.” Vale laced his fingers together and leant back in his seat. “We have kissed several times. You asked me out for dinner, we decided on coffee for a first date, I do believe that the word date was in fact used.” Silver was smiling, he liked Vale when he got like this, it was quite attractive in fact. “All the evidence does point toward me finding you attractive, I do believe.”

“Hmm, I suppose that you do have a good point there.” Silver said. “And I do know that I happen to find you…” He sighed. “Incredibly attractive.” Vale’s throat went very dry and very tight when he said that, he flicked his tongue out to wet his lips before picking up his coffee cup and trying to hide his reaction behind his cup as he took a sip of it.

“And despite not looking for a relationship,” He swallowed. “I do want to try.” He put his left hand on the table with his palm upturned and waited. Silver smiled and reached over the table and laced his fingers with Vale’s. Vale couldn’t help but smile, his cheeks a pale pink that he couldn’t supress.

“You did promise me dinner.” Silver pointed out.

“I did.” Vale said with a nod. “What is your work schedule like?”

“I think there may be a rule about planning your second date on your first date.” Silver said with a smirk. He leant across the table, picked up Vale’s hand, and brushed his knuckles across the back of his knuckles. “But for you, I am willing to break every single rule in the book. Hell, let’s throw out the entire book.”

“So… dinner?” Vale asked.

“Dinner. How does Monday sound to you?” Silver suggested. “Unless you have something to investigate of course, we can rearrange if you have to do your work.”

“Thank you.” Vale said, it was good to know that Silver was understanding of his work, and how much it meant to him, and how much time it could take up. “Monday should be good, unless something big happens, the smaller projects are so dull, I refuse to work them, unless it is big or I am spectacularly bored, then come Monday evening and I am all yours.”

“And we take things slow.” Silver said.

“And we take things slow.” Vale said with a nod. “Dinner, and that is it on Monday.”

“Well, can I at least walk you home afterwards?” Silver asked him. “I would like to be able to walk you home when we have finished our meals, and drinks, though I suppose that, if you are working Tuesday, then maybe we should keep the drinking to the minimum.”

“I don’t believe that there is a single time where you have kept your drinking to the minimum. You could barely stand at the end of the wedding.” Vale said, Silver laughed, pressing his hand to his lips to try and stifle it somewhat. “Of course, neither of us could, but that isn’t the point that I am making.”

“I can. I will show you on Monday. But may I? May I walk you home after we eat?”

“What if I want to walk you home?” Vale asked with a frown. “You can’t walk me home if I am walking you home.”

“Well, I will walk you home next time, and then you can walk me home the time after that.” Vale’s throat tightened. “Is the time after next getting too far ahead of ourselves?” Silver’s voice was soft as he squeezed Vale’s hand. It had felt so natural to have Silver’s hand in his that he had almost entirely forgotten about it until he had squeezed his hand tightly. It felt good.

“Maybe a little bit.” Vale said. “Let’s see how Monday goes. I make no promises. But I want to try.”

* * *

Vale shut the front door behind him and leant his back against it. He slowly exhaled before he realised that the flat was quiet. Far, far, far too quiet. “Alright. I know you are here.” He called out as he started to kick off his shoes and unbutton his coat. “Just ask whatever questions you have, get it out of your systems so you can leave me in piece for the rest of the evening.”

“You didn’t answer your phone the whole day!” Irene shouted, she untangled her legs from Kai’s, and the blanket they had pulled over themselves, and stood up. It wasn’t unusual for Vale to ignore his phone when it buzzed or rang, but he usually gave them a warning when he was about to get lost in a case or was knee deep in editing. “Did you forget your charger again?”

“No, I just didn’t want to deal with your questions.” Vale pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned it back on. “And I forgot that I switched it off, I got distracted.” He hung his bag up and poked his head around the lounge door. “Have you eaten yet?”

“Food in the oven.” Kai said. “Come and tell us what happened since you were so damn secretive at work.”

“There isn’t much to say.” Vale said with a shrug, sitting in his usual armchair. “We drank coffee. I drank coffee, he had a hot chocolate.”

“And?”

“And we are going out for dinner on Monday, he was quite insistent on walking me home after we eat.” Vale’s lips curved into a small smile and he looked down at the carpet.

“Gay.”

“Kai!” Irene pinched him. “He’s a messy bisexual, get it right.”

 


	103. Past love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 100 fics challenge, Irene x Bradamant request, this one ended up being under 5k but I do know who asked me to do this because they don't know what subtlety is, and they're ok with that
> 
> Set almost straight after the Invisible Library
> 
>  
> 
> contains: angst, implied sexual assault/rape

 

The house wasn’t perfect. The study was small and crammed with books; the kitchen was outdated, even for the pseudo Victorian period; and her bedroom window was made of such thin glass that she needed extra blankets to be comfortable enough to sleep. But despite all of this… it was perfect. It was small but it was cosy, she could curl up and read whilst surrounded by crowded shelves, on a battered armchair that she had bought second hand. The kitchen was old and frankly ugly, but it was so warm, and she loved padding into the kitchen in the morning to make herself a cup of tea, still yawning and with Kai, sat at the kitchen table whilst he ate toast and drank his own tea. And she loved the sound of the rain as it struck the windowpanes in her bedroom and ran down the thin glass.

The house was far from perfect. But it was home for the time being. Irene didn’t often have the chance to live anywhere long term, yet she rarely had the time to relax in her rooms in the rooms in the Library. It was home. It was her home.

The doorbell loudly chimed and startled her from her reverie, she realised that she had been staring at a bookcase for a while, blankly looking at it instead of choosing something to read, like she had been intending to do. She shook herself and sighed. Kai had probably forgotten his key again, he’d gone out on an errand to try and find her a specific book from one of the many bookshops in London.

She stomped down the stairs before she stopped and stared at the side table. Kai’s keys were gone. That wasn’t Kai at the door. And it wasn’t Vale, he would have grown impatient and rung the bell again by now. She didn’t really know anyone else in London, and certainly no one knew her address yet.

She very reluctantly unlocked the door and slowly opened it a few inches, the chain on the door prevented it from opening much more than that, Alberich may have been banished, but that didn’t mean that his minions were.

It was Bradamant.

“Oh.” She said, she undid the chain and fully opened the door. “What are you doing here?” She crossed her arms as she waited for a response, she and Bradamant were of equal heights, but with Bradamant at the door, she had a couple of inches above the woman which she liked, even if the sense of superiority it gave her was a false one.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in and show me around your… lovely home?” Bradamant asked, stepping across the threshold and brushing past Irene like she belonged there. She pulled off her coat, lined with silk and fur at the collar, and gave it to Irene before she unpinned her hat. “It’s quaint, I’ll give you that.” She said, looking around the hallway. “A bit small. Is there two bedrooms here or did you just give in and share a room with that _lovely_ student of yours?”

Irene pressed her lips into a thin line before she forced herself to smile and hang the coat up, so that she had free hands to shut the door again. “Yes, there are two bedrooms.” She replied. “I wouldn’t want to share a room with my student.” She shut the door and clicked the lock shut before dropping her keys into the bowl on the side, she’d lose them if she didn’t always put them in the exact same place when she was finished with them. “Why are you here?”

“So brusque. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, dear?” Bradamant’s voice was pure saccharine, it was sweet and sticky, and Irene had once loved the sound of it, now it was just sickly. “I thought that we could do with a little chat. Don’t you worry, Coppelia and Kostchei both know that I am here, and they fully approved of me coming.” Irene crossed her arms, not believing her in the slightest. “Look, Coppelia even gave me a note to pass on to you, if you don’t believe me.” She reached into her handbag, probably designer, and pulled out an envelope made of aging parchment.

Irene opened the envelope, it hadn’t been sealed, the flap had just been tucked it. It was only a brief note, but most definitely Coppelia’s handwriting, it wished her well and informed her that Bradamant was there with permission. Irene sighed and crumpled up the paper. “I’ll put the kettle on.”

Making them a pot of tea, and leaving Bradamant to wait in the hallway, gave her enough time to gather her thoughts. She wondered what Bradamant had to talk about, because as far as Irene was concerned, there was nothing left for them to talk about. She didn’t hate the woman, she was far too tired of the bitterness between them already, but she just didn’t care for her anymore. It was easier to just ignore her than acknowledge the awkward thoughts and feelings that she felt deep down.

Thoughts that she had long since locked away and pretended that they didn’t exist, because she didn’t want to feel them anymore. And maybe she didn’t feel them, not really. It was just that, every now and then, something would remind her of the past that they had shared, and it would dredge up all of the things that she had once felt, and she would wonder what could have been.

“So, is the dragon out?” Bradamant leant on the kitchen doorframe. “Oh, how… cute. Can you even cook?” The kitchen was small, and the kitchen table shoved into the corner made it feel a little cramped at times, but it was for just the two of them and she and Kai made it work. Granted that, between the two of them, there was probably four or five dozen tea cups, but that was besides the point, they did drink a lot of tea.

There were a good many varieties of tea as well, lined up in little tin boxes, tea bags and loose leaf. There were a few boxes of coffee as well, but Kai didn’t often drink it, and Irene much preferred tea unless she was exhausted, or had just woken up, sometimes (usually) both.

“I can.” Sort of. She’d cooked Bradamant dinner once, but she’d managed to burn it after she had been distracted. “And Kai, I doubt he will appreciate being referred to as ‘the dragon’, is out running errands for me. I want to see what skills he has so I know where we stand.” Bradamant nodded.

She had told him the book title, the publishing date and the publishing house, and nothing else. She knew that the book was in a shop along Charing Cross road, as there were a lot of bookshops there, including several second-hand bookshops that sold antiquities and rare books. She had checked that there was a copy in a shop that morning, and then sent Kai to find it with the hope that no one had bought it first.

She was hoping that he would have used his initiative and gone to check those shops first as they were the obvious place to find it, and any book buyer in London, any London knew of their reputation, and if he wanted to a Librarian, he needed to know that.

She’d give him harder jobs to do when she knew that he would actually be capable of doing them.

“Well, if you need tips on how to deal with a student, you can always ask.” She simpered.

“So, I know what not to do?” Irene sniped as she poured the water into the teapot.

“If you want to be like that, sure, why not.” Bradamant replied. “What tea are you making?”

“Earl grey.” Irene added the tea pot, two cups and saucers, and a pot of sugar cubes to a tray. “We can talk in the study upstairs. It’s more comfortable.” She led the way up the stairs, she’d left the study door open, and she put the tray down on a small table between her armchair and the sofa. “Please, make yourself comfortable, and tell me why you came here.”

“Like I said, I thought that we could do with a little chat.” Bradamant sat down on the edge of the chair, tucking her skirts underneath her legs, before she smoothed out the fabric even though there was barely a crease to it. “I have contacts in this world, you are new. I could help you.”

“No offence, but I do not want your help.” Irene said coolly as she poured their tea, Bradamant leant forward to add one cube of sugar to her cup. “I think that I am happy to find my own contacts.”

“Irene, dear-”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Your chosen name? I suppose that if you wish for me to start calling you by your childhood name like I did before, then I could.”

“No. Don’t you dare do that.” Irene’s voice was as emotionless as she could make it. “I meant ‘dear’.” She picked up her tea cup. “I am not your dear, do not call me that.” _Again._

“Fine, if you say so. You have never complained before.” Bradamant twitched her shoulder. “I suppose we have both changed a bit since then.”

“Well I am complaining now.” Irene said. “Don’t do it again.”

“Of course.” Bradamant nodded her head. “Are you sure you don’t want my help? Irene, I could help you find a lot of rare books in this world, I know where a lot of them already are! Sure, you don’t want to push that all away for petty pride.”

“No, I am not being petty, and this is nothing to do with my pride.” She took a sip of her tea, even though it was hot enough to burn her lips and tongue. “No. I just don’t want to find out what being in debt to you feels like.”

“I wouldn’t make you promise me anything.” Bradamant said.

“You will have to forgive me for not believing you.” Irene said, trying to sound as indifferent as she could, but it was hard to be so emotionless when she was filled with them. They swirled around her body, making her heart clench and her throat tighten.

With anger.

“You ripped my heart to pieces. Did it even hurt when you left?” The words had escaped her lips before she could stop them, and judging by the look on Bradamant’s face, pale with the colour draining; eyes widened and shocked; lips parted to respond but she was completely unable to do so, it was not what Bradamant had been expecting to hear.

“How long have you wanted to ask me that?” Bradamant’s voice was worryingly soft as she leant forward to set her teacup down. “How many years has that been pressing down on you?”

“Since you left me.” Irene’s voice was strangled. “Since you left without so much of a goodbye, like I meant utterly nothing to you.”

“It wasn’t like that.” Bradamant said, she reached out to touch Irene’s knee. “Really Irene, it was never meant to be like that.”

“Well it certainly felt like it. You ignored my messages, you refused to speak with me. You just pretended like nothing had ever happened between us, when something very clearly did.” Irene took a deep breath, and brushed Bradamant’s hand off her knee. “You could just walk away and move on. I couldn’t.”

“You managed to.”

“Eventually.” Irene said tiredly. “It took a lot to get over you. You used me, and then you dropped me and swanned off. You can say that it wasn’t like that, but please, feel free to prove it.”

“Irene.” Bradamant took a deep breath before she got out of her seat to carefully pace the room, not that there was much room to pace. “Irene. You did mean something to me. You meant a lot.”

“Then why did you leave!”

“You slept with another woman!” Bradamant hissed. “I couldn’t look past that, I couldn’t forgive that. I left because I couldn’t stand to look at you.”

“You think that you know everything that happened.” Irene said, trying to mimic Bradamant’s hissing voice. “You were happy to spread it around the Library without so much as asking me for the truth. You were so convinced that you knew everything, and I was the one willing to throw myself into bed with that woman.”

“You didn’t say no. Did you?” Bradamant snarled. “You know what, you don’t want my contacts. Fine. Struggle. Work so hard to prove everyone wrong and lose every single friend that you could have ever had in your determination to be correct.”

“I said no.” Irene said, her eyes were burning. “I tried so hard to say no and to resist her.” Bradamant stared at her. “Do you honestly think that I wanted that?”

_She’d been the payment. That’s what the woman had said to her. What the Fae woman had said. Payment for the book that had been suspiciously stolen whilst Irene had been in the house. And no matter what Irene did to fight the urge that she knew was Fae glamour, she couldn’t stop her feet from taking step after step toward the woman’s bedroom, her mind screaming for her to run but her body powerless to resist._

“You never said…”

“I tried, I told you that I hadn’t wanted to do it, but I couldn’t help it. I tried. But you didn’t listen. You just walked away and decided to spread rumours about me.” Irene’s voice was hoarse as she slumped in her seat, she didn’t want to think about this. She wanted to think about anything but that woman.

_She’d run from the house, feeling sick to her stomach, her skin crawling with the knowledge of what she had just done. She was still buttoning her blouse back up when she almost literally ran into Bradamant._

“I thought…” Bradamant felt cold, and her throat tightened as she realised what Irene was saying, about what had happened to her. And Bradamant had just assumed that she had done it all willingly, when she couldn’t have been further from the truth.

“Yes, you thought.” Irene said, sharply cutting her off. “You didn’t ask. You didn’t want to know. And you didn’t want to listen to me.” She ran a hand through her hair, not caring that it would probably make her look like she was nervous and make a mess of her hair. “And then you left. And I had to deal with that, and the knowledge of what had been done to me.”

“And me telling everyone that you just jumped into bed with her.” Bradamant said, voice lowered, she was unable to look Irene in the eye and instead stared at the carpet. “If I had understood, I never would have done that.”

“You should never have done it in the first place.” Irene said. “You were angry, and you decided to do your best to ruin my life. You didn’t ask. You never listened to me. You just decided that you were right, that I had cheated on you without a second thought.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I think it’s a bit too late for apologies.” Irene said. “I think we have long since gone past the point of sorry smoothing things over.” She reached for her cup of tea again and took a sip from it, leaning back in her seat.

“What can I do to make it up to you?” Bradamant went to her knees in front of Irene. “Is there a way for me to fix this?”

“No.” Irene said simply. “Some things can’t be fixed. You broke my heart. You ruined my reputation. You let me suffer. I healed, I worked hard, and I did all of it alone.”

“I really am sorry.” Bradamant said.

“Like I said. It is too late for that.” Irene said. “I am done being angry and bitter about our past. But that doesn’t mean that I forgive you. That doesn’t fix a thing. I want to be able to fully move on from all of this. I want to forget that any of it ever happened.”

“I’ll tell people that I was wrong.” Bradamant said. “Or that I lied because I was angry.” Irene nodded. “And I’ll leave you alone if that is what you want. You wont ever hear from me again. Unless they want us to work together.”

“We are never going to be friends.” Irene said. “If you need something for work, ask for it. But we will not be friends. We are co-workers, and that is it.” Bradamant nodded. “That is all we can ever be now.”

“Of course.” Bradamant quietly said. “I’ll… I’ll go. Send me an email if you change your mind about those contacts.” Irene nodded. “And apparently I need to return the other books that I stole. We made copies of them, of course, but the others, apparently, have to go back to their owners.”

“Good. Vale will be glad to hear that.” Irene said. It may win her a little more goodwill from the detective, the return of his family’s book, even if he wasn’t in contact with them much, it was still the reason that he became involved in the first place. “Well, let me know about that, I’ll pick them up, or send Kai to do that.” Bradamant nodded before rising.

“I really am sorry, Irene.” Bradamant said. “I am sorry that I didn’t listen to you, and for all of the damage that I did. I should never have let my anger get the better of me, it was childish and petty.” Irene got to her feet as well. “I hope that you settle in well here, I think that you could really enjoy your work in this world.” She held her hand out, and after a long pause, Irene took it, just for a second, before releasing again. Bradamant’s smile was slight and sad, her dark eyes were as downcast as the weather sweeping the streets.

“I’ll show you out.” Irene said softly. “I still don’t know if I can ever bring myself to forgive you, but this has been a good start.”

“It has.” Bradamant said. “We should have talked about this years ago.”

“I don’t think either of us wanted to do that.” Irene said, shaking her head before leading the way out of the study and back down the stairs, she reached for Bradamant’s coat on the hat stand. “I don’t think either of us were ready to listen to the other.” She held the coat out and Bradamant pulled it on.

Irene unlocked the door as she secured her hat with a pin. It had begun to rain whilst they were upstairs and Irene watched as the rain bounced off the pavement and cabs trundled through the slowly forming puddles, shallow now but they’d be a few inches deep before the rain slacked off and if one were to walk along the path they would undoubtedly be soaked through.

“Oh, how horrid.” Bradamant said, standing at her shoulder to look out into the street. “Never mind, I am sure that I can get a cab.”

“There’s a library two streets over.” Irene said. “It has plenty of quite corridors, you are probably better off using that one.”

“Alright.” Bradamant said. “Thank you for the tea, and the chance to talk.” She stepped out into the rain. “I’ll be seeing you, Irene.”

Irene smiled, before she took a step outside too, and pressed her lips to Bradamant’s cheek. “I suppose that you will.” She said. Bradamant smiled, before turning to walk away, and walk past Kai. Irene arched a brow when she noticed him.

“Are you going to spend the rest of the day out there?” She asked.

“You’re one to talk.” He said, bounding up the steps. “At least I have my coat on, and shoes.” He nudged her back inside, Irene hadn’t even realised that she’d stepped outside in just her stockings, she could feel the cold and now that she was on the dry wooden floor of their short hallway, she could feel the water beginning to seep through the silk and she curled her toes, it felt unpleasant. “What was all of that about? What did she want?”

“I think… it was a chance for me to finally move on.” Irene said softly, watching as he struggled out of his dripping coat before turning back to watch the street for a few seconds longer. “I need a new start, and this is a pretty good one.” She sighed and pulled herself together, almost slamming the door shut before turning to him. “Well. Do you have it?”

“Of course.” He said, nodding his head toward the bag he had dumped on the floor when he’d taken his coat off. “Are you going to tell me what she was doing here? She poisoned you last time you were alone with her.”

“I distinctively remember.” Irene said. “But I don’t think that she poisoned my tea.” She swept her eyes over him. “I’ll make a fresh pot whilst you go and get changed, and the you can tell me how you found the book.”

“I don’t trust her, Irene.” Kai said, shaking his head. “I don’t think that you should either, and I know that I am your subordinate, so it isn’t really my place to say anything.”

“Yet here we are.” Irene said with a sigh, Kai gave a rueful smile.

“Yet here we are, or more specifically, here you were, having tea with her?”

“She wanted to know if I wanted any of her contacts in this world, don’t worry, I said no, I do not like to be indebted to anyone, Librarian or not.” She said. “I can make my own contacts. Starting with Vale, she also said that she’s been ordered to return the other books that she stole. I think that our first job here will be returning those. You can help me come up with an explanation over tea.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Now, go and change, before you catch your death by cold.”

Irene paused as she collected the now cool tea pot and Bradamant’s cup, there was a smudge of lipstick across the porcelain and she wiped it away with the pad of her thumb. That was one relationship that she had thoroughly shut the door on.

She didn’t want to rekindle the relationship, far from it. It had ended badly and she was still hurting years later. But that little bit of closure was already beginning to heal the hole in her heart.

For the first time in a very long time, she felt ready to move on from the woman. “Am I interrupting something else now?” A now dry Kai asked, and she looked up.

“She got lipstick on my tea cup.” Irene said. Kai snorted at her and her lips curved into a smile. Sadly the only other person in her life right now was her student. And she wasn’t about to make that mistake, she had learnt her lesson.

“It isn’t the end of the world. It’s just lipstick.”

“I don’t like the shade.” She said, before looking up. “I’ll wash these up and then we can talk.”


	104. Massage

Irene kicked off her shoes, uncomfortable high heels that had been making her feet ache all day, and slowly padded up the stairs, trying not to wince too much. Kai was sat on the couch in their small and cramped study, he flicked his eyes up to acknowledge her appearance as she tossed herself into her normal armchair and propped her feet up on the ottaman. "Oof." She tried not to audibly sigh.

"Rough day?"

"I don't mind the work that comes with covering up why we are actually in this world." Irene said. "Until it keeps me on my feet all day. And on the one day that I decide that maybe the high heels are a good choice. They were not." Kai snorted as he reached for his bookmark. "Did you get anything but reading done today?"

"A couple of the more simple translations." He said and she nodded. "I'm no polyglot like you though." Irene yawned and her eyes slid half shut. "You look exhausted."

She dismissively waved her hand. "I'll be fine. I just need to put my feet up for a bit. Unless you fancy volunteering to cook dinner tonight." Kai smiled, not that she could see under lowered lids, and he set his book down. He silently rose from his seat and drifted across the room to sit on the floor by the ottaman.

He grazed the knuckle of his index finger up the sole of her foot, and Irene jerked, sucking in a sudden breath at the sensation. "What are you doing?" She demanded as he held her right foot still and started to dig his thumbs into the arch.

"Helping." He replied. "Stay still and I'll try not to tickle you too much." Irene swallowed, feeling him press into the sore skin and muscle. "Have you never had a foot massage before?"

"I'm quite- nng- ticklish." She gasped.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked, movement stilling in what Irene could only describe as the biggest dissapointment of the week. "Irene?" She stiffly shook her head. "Alright." And he started again.

"Where did you learn to do this?" She muttered, he was going to make her fall asleep if he kept up like this. He switched to her other foot and she tried not to sigh as she wriggled her toes and realised that they didn't ache.

"I guess I just picked it up." Kai shrugged. "A suprisingly useful skill, I can do your shoulders if you want that."

"But from where? I've picked up a lot of things over the years but never how to do this."

"Partners." Kai said after a long pause. "Ex-partners that should be. Someone I dated years ago knew how to do it, so I learnt from them, and got better with practise." Irene nodded. "It's pretty useful for when people I care about are in need of a quick way to relax." He smirked. "Though, I can think of more fun way for us to do that." Irene lazily opened one eye.

"And you're in the perfect place to get kicked in the face."

"Noted." He got back to work. "How do you feel now?"

"A lot better." Irene admitted. "It feels really good." Kai smiled.

"Glad to help." He said. "You look like you could fall asleep there. Do you want a blanket or a coffee?"

"Coffee." She muttered. "It's too early to-" She yawned again. "to fall asleep." Kai smiled and got to his feet. He stepped out of the lounge, waited for two minutes, and silently nudged the door open again. Exactly as he had expected, she had fallen asleep. He quickly grabbed a blanket and did his best to tuck her in without waking her. He brushed hair out of her face, fingers lingering on her jaw as he leant in to softly kiss her forehead.

"Sleep well." He murmured. She may insist that they could never be together, that there wasn't a future for them and that he should just give up and stop trying, but that didn't stop the way that he felt for her, he doubted that anything would stop the way that he felt. "I love you." She smiled in her sleep, adjusting herself a little as her head lulled to the side and he softly sighed. She was absolutely perfect, even when exhausted. How could he have not fallen for a woman like that? 


	105. Labour pains

"Let's have a baby." Kai said as he set Irene's hospital bag down by the door and poked his head around the living room door. Irene was pacing, her hand on her stomach, tense as she waited for the next contraction.

"Well, it's a bit too late to say no to that." She muttered. "Do we have everything?"

"I think so." He said. "Change of clothes for you, pyjamas, baby clothes, blanket, toiletries, bottle, hair brush, hair bands. I don't think I am forgetting anything."

"Pyjamas and clothes for you." They'd done their research and whilst the private hospital had been pricy, Kai would be able to stay there with her, from admission to when she and the baby were ready to go home.

"Snacks?"

"You aren't allowed to eat whilst in labour. And I've already got those."

"They can't do anything if they don't catch me." She said. "And I was thinking for you." She winced and Kai crossed the room to hold her close. She grabbed fistfulls of his starched white t-shirt as she rested her head on his shoulder and tried to breath through the contraction like the birthing classes had taught her. It did fuck all.

"That's three minutes. Alright, let's go." He grabbed their mobiles off the table and shoved his into a pocket and gave her hers, before taking her free hand. "I've already called ahead, they're waiting for us."

"Alright." Irene said after swallowing, feeling tension in her back and shoulders, and not just because of the labour pains. "I'll call my parents once we're in the hospital, no point in doing that until we know everything is okay." Kai grabbed the hospital bag and locked the door behind them.

"And Vale. And my family." Kai said. "Maybe we just shouldn't tell anyone until the baby is here." He put the bag in the car boot and helped Irene into the passenger seat.

"Yeah." Irene said, he couldn't hear her though as he shut the door and walked around to the drivers side of the car, there was a baby seat already strapped into the back seat. "They'll keep calling for updates if we tell them, maybe we should just leave it until we know the baby is going to be okay."

"Let's do that." He said. "I don't want anything distracting me from you and our baby." He started the car. "Please don't give birth in my car."

"Oh, the leather seats are that important?"

"God no. No, I'll panic and probably crash the car. And I don't think that's a good thing." 


	106. Shirtless

“Yes, you look great in my shirt. But I kind of need it back." Kai had not expected to come upstairs and into the study to find Irene on the armchair, curled up, dimmly lit (it made her skin golden, face in the shadows of dark curls) by the lamp on the side table, wearing his shirt and as far as he could tell, nothing else.

Irene slid a book mark into the pages and set it down, before she uncurled her legs, a thick band of scar on her left leg, and she stood up. Kai did not expect her to pull the shirt off over her head and hold it out to him. She'd been wearing her underwear underneath it. He stared at her with wide eyes, he was blushing. He coughed and then swallowed, fixing his eyes on a point above her head.

"Vale is downstairs." He said. "I recommend clothes. And fast."

Irene's eyes went wide and she grabbed the shirt back off him and pulled it on again, fighting with the sleeves that had been turned inside out.

Vale nearly dropped the tray as he toes the door open with his toe. Irene yelped and tried to hide behind Kai. The shirt was half way down her thighs, so she was 'decent', or she was by hers or Kai's standards. Definitely not by Vale's. The buttons open to reveal the lace of her bra was definitely not helping. Well, thank god the curtains were closed?

"Good heavens." Vale said, stepping back out of the room.

"Sorry!" Irene called, blushing furiously. "I didn't realise you would be here. Either of you!"

"Do you often wear my shirts when I'm not here?" Kai asked incredulousy. "I mean, you look good in it. I'm all for this... Look. Just, not when Vale is here."

"I thought I'd be home alone for the night! They're comfortable to sleep in, and they smell good." Irene said. "I'll go and change."

"Please do." Vale said, his voice was strangled and Irene could not help but laugh at the entire mess of a highly awkward solution.

"At least you put the shirt back on?" Kai said, he put his hands on her hips and softly kissed her. "It's good to be home and next time... A dressing gown over the top may be a good idea? Until you're sure that it's just me who gets to see you like this." 

"Can you two maybe flirt when I am not awkwardly hiding so Winters can go and dress decently." Irene sighed.

"I'll be five minutes, and then you can explain why you've ruined my peaceful evening of having my nose in a book." 


	107. Skating

"We should go ice skating." Irene said as they walked along the bank of the Thames, watching the activities of the frost fair on top of the frozen river.

"I don't know how to skate." Vale said.

"That's fine, I could do with a good laugh." Irene said dryly. Kai laughed.

"I can't skate very well either." Kai said. "It's probably a bad idea."

"You are just making it sound like a better idea by the second." Irene said. "Please? I'll go alone if you two don't want to, but I haven't gone for ages and it's been so long since I've done something... Fun."

"Well, I don't think it'll hurt too much." Kai mused, willing to do almost anything to make Irene happy. He looked at Vale.

"It could potentially hurt us a lot." Vale said. Irene looked up at him.

"Please? For me?" She begged. Vale sighed and rolled his eyes. "Don't make me beg. You know that I will."

"Please Vale?" Kai started too. "Come on. It could be fun."

"Fine, I'll do it. You two will be the death of me." Vale said.

"And you will love every second of it." Irene said, grabbing his hand and dragging him toward a stall surrounded by people trying on ice skates before taking to the river. "Come on."

"She'll kill us." Kai said to Vale. "And I really doubt either of us are ever going to complain about it."

"You'll probably say thank you."

"And you won't?" 


	108. Mistletoe kisses

"I swear there is mistletoe everywhere." Irene hissed, grabbing Kai's wrist. "I have to keep dodging Silver. Let's just go home."

"Thank god." Kai said, he tossed back the rest of his champagne, which was frankly impressive, he'd had half a glass left. "I didn't want to come in the first place."

"Let's find Vale and go." She said, looking around the room. "Where has he gone..." She frowned. "He's breaking into Silver's rooms. Isn't he?"

"Yep." She sighed. "How come he gets to have all of the fun?"

"Thank you for saying that so I don't have to." She said. "Let's go and find him." She took his arm and they skirted around the ballroom and snuck out through the first unguarded door that they found. It was beginning to remind his of when they'd worked together and he caught up her hand and tugged her along behind him. Irene clutched the wide skirts of her ball gown and tried not to laugh. They were not being subtle at all.

She picked a door at random and ordered the lock undone. "We could always abandon Vale and just find a private room to barricade ourselves into." He caught her around the hips and backed her against the wall. 

"Tempting." Irene murmured. She wondered if it was the alcohol or the atmosphere that was getting to her. "But... We really shouldn't get caught. And we have beds at home." Kai sighed, gave her a lingering kiss that made her lips burn, and then pulled away. She wanted to pull him back again, and kiss him hard, go dizzy and sink into his embrace. "How do you always manage to do this to me?"

"You know I'm good company." He said. "Alright. Where's Vale?"

Four doors down and the corridor turned and there were stairs going up and down. She looked at Kai, he shrugged, so Irene chose up, to where the private rooms were. Even here was decorated with wreaths and tinsel everywhere, considerably less mistletoe though. They started checking doors at random, opening and shutting them when they realised that they were empty.  
Kai grabbed her and tugged her into a bedroom. "I said not here!" Kai clapped his hand over his mouth and a second later they heard footsteps passing them. "Oh..." She blushed a little and he gave her a crooked smirk, tracing his finger down her her cheek and throat. She swallowed.

"I think they're gone. Let's keep going." She slumped, what a bloody tease.  
Another flight of stairs upward and more rooms. Irene opened the fifth door at random, and her drawer dropped.  
Silver had Vale pressed up against a bookcase, their lips were tightly locked and Vale's hands were grasping onto Silver's suit and wrinkling the silk. They showed no sign of stopping.

"What the hell is going on here?" Kai demanded and the kiss stuttered to a stop. Silver looked at them with a smirk as Vale's cheeks flushed a red so bright that it matched the Holly berries decorating Silver's home.

"Do you mind?" Silver complained. "You're interrupting us."

"What are you doing to Vale?"

"Kissing him? What does it look like?"

"Vale?" Vale cleared his throat and tugged at the collar of his shirt.

"Go home." He said in a low voice. "I'm quite... Content here." Irene slowly backed out of the door.

"Alright." She said slowly. "Make sure that you make it home tonight and... We'll see you tomorrow." She slammed the door and grabbed Kai's hand and tugged him away.

"Where are we going? We shouldn't just leave Vale there."

"We can and we will." She said. "I'm pinning you to one of my bookcases."

"Ohhh... " Kai grinned. "Okay!" 


	109. Breathless

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest in a crushing tight grip that knocked the air from Irene's lungs and made her gasp. "Kai!"

"Am I hurting you?"

"No, it just knocked the air out of me." He smirked, and kissed her.

His hand was warm as it moved to cup her cheek, his fingers were soft as they dragged over her jaw and she could feel a furious blush rising in her cheeks. She carefully wrapped her arms around his shoulders, feeling a full ache in her chest as her heart pounded against her ribcage and she began to wonder if she'd perhaps been injured a few too many times and should really learn to take it easy. That thought disappeared a few seconds later as Kai parted his lips against hers. It was hard to think when being kissed in such a manner, drowning in his embrace with the touch of his lips being the only thing to keep her afloat.

She slid her fingers into his hair, he wore it loose for a change, winding her fingers into the ebony strands and lightly tugging on them. "Ow." Kai muttered, pulling back.

"Oh hush." She replied and he smiled, cheeks a little pink.

"I think that was a much better way to take your breath away than a hug." He said, he had a smile on his lips, eye lids lowered, but she could see his pupils were dilated, wide and focused on her. "You don't agree?"

"My ribs do hurt a little bit." Irene said, more than slightly breathless. He loosened his embrace and she took a deep breath. "That's better."

"Fancy not pulling my hair now?" Irene smiled, and used her grip on his hair to pull him into another kiss, Kai was not about to complain. 


	110. Pretty please

“Please, please hold my hand, and make me whole.” Li Ming looked over the top of his book and arched a single, elegant eyebrow. "Please give me attention. I need it." Li Ming rolled his eyes, smiling slightly.

"Come here." He said softly, patting the space on the sofa next to him.

"You know, you won't die if I'm not holding you all of the time." Li Ming said as Silver sat next to him. He wrapped his arm around the Fae, bring him to lay down, his head on Li Ming's thigh. Silver softly exhaled, almost like a small sigh of relief. Li Ming found the spot in his book again, Silver was warm against him, and he smiled slightly.

"I saw that." Silver said. "You are secretly a softy. You can't hide it from me." Li Ming looked down at him.

"I am?" He asked. "I can't have that. No, you're going to have to move. I don't want a reputation for being gentle."

"You are anything but gentle. It still hurts to sit down." Li Ming smirked.

"You could have said no."

"I didn't know ice skating would hurt so much!" Silver complained. "You could have said."

"I could of, I suppose." Li Ming said. "Maybe I just like to make you suffer."

"I swear that you do." Silver said, smiling. "Why on earth do I put up with you?"

"I could ask myself the exact same thing." Li Ming said as he slid his fingers into Silver's hair, slowly and carefully dragging his fingers through it.

"Ming?" He made a humming noise at the back of his throat to acknowledge Silver. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said, continuing to comb his fingers through Silver's hair. "Even if you are a pain in the neck."

"Better a pain in the neck than the arse." Silver said. "Well no, that depends on the type of pain. Ice skating? No thank you. Horse riding? I suppose so."

"I'll make a note." He remarked. "In case I get bored next weekend."

"You have plenty of books to read to keep you entertained." Silver said.

"But then you aren't getting the attention you need to have to stay alive." Li Ming replied. "If I'm reading, what will you do?"

"Lay on you, just like this." Silver said. "If you don't mind it."

"Its not the worst thing you have done."

"That means you like it." Silver brightly said. "You just don't want to admit it."

"Keep telling yourself that." 


	111. Distraction

“Stop smiling at me like that, I am trying to concentrate.” Irene said. Kai laughed before he got up to perch on the edge of her desk. He out two fingaers under her chin and tilted her head back to meet his eyes. She thought that he was about to lean in and kiss her.

"There's ink on your face." He said softly. "You look quite silly." Irene looked down at her pen and huffed, shoving her chair away from the desk.

"Its on hands too." She said. She looked up at him, he was still smiling at her. "You have seen the Lion King, right?" He nodded just as she smeared blue ink across his forehead, still wet on her thumb. "Now you look silly too." Her smile was bright and happy, lighting up her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight, pressing his face into her hair. "This is probably getting ink on your shirt." Irene said, words muffled against his shoulder.

"I don't care. You were looking stressed. I just wanted to get you to smile, it's worth it." Irene stepped back, keeping her arms loosely around him, only moving so that she could look up at him.

"I'm fine." She said. "Really, you don't need to worry about me."

"Yes I do." He said. "I worry about you 'Rene. You work yourself too hard. It isn't good for you." She looked at her desk, filled with paperwork in various stages of completion.

"There's so much to get through." She sighed. "I can take a break when it's done."

"But it's never done is it? You get halfway through it and something else happens which adds more work to your pile. Take a break now, we can go out for dinner, or I can make something for us." She looked to the window. The sun was setting, turning the smog a beautiful, muted orange.

"Maybe going out wouldn't be so bad." She relented. He was right, by the time she'd finished what was on her desk, more would be waiting for her.

"You need to wash the ink off first." He said, smiling. "Maybe stopping holding your pen in your mouth when your hands are busy?"

"Its quicker. If I put it down, you know I'll lose it. And you need to wash it off your forehead too." He sighed.

"Why do I put up with you?"

"Good taste in literature," She counted the reasons on her fingers. "I always have alcohol in. I am fantastic in bed. And I have saved your life countless times."

"It was rhetorical, Irene." He gave her a lopsided smile. "But I think you got all of the major points there." Minus the fact that he was head over heels for her, but he decided that telling her that would probably just scare her off, and he didn't want to do that.

After all. He loved her. 


	112. Frustrating love

"I am madly in love with you."

"Why?" Vale asked tiredly. Silver in his house at three in the morning sounded awful in theory, and it was awful. He tightened the belt of his dressing gown around his middle and rubbed at his eyes. 

"I don't know." Silver confessed, spreading his hands. "I don't know what you have done to me, but all I can think... Is of you. I want to sleep. And I can't, you have enchanted me Vale. Peregrine." Vale cringed.

"Well, that's not my fault." Vale replied.

"What did you do to me?"

"Like I said, it's not my fault." Vale replied with a shrug. "I can't control your feelings, that's for you to deal with, not me. Now, if you don't mind, I want to go back to sleep." Silver reached out to grab Vale's wrist when he stepped away to shut the door.

"You must have done! I do not fall in love. Not with my own kind and certainly not with... With your kind!" Silver said.

"You'll wake the neighbours." Vale hissed. "Either shut up, or keep your voice down." 

"Can I come in?" Vale's glare answered that one and Silver took a slight step backward. "Why am I in love with you?" 

"I don't know. And I don't care." Vale said. "I do not love you back, I do not even want you in my home, let alone anything else. You'll get over me, you always move on to something new so fast. Go and find some pretty woman to chase after, and leave me alone." 

"Good night." Silver said dejectedly, he bowed his head, looking down at his feet. "Sleep well." Vale didn't slam the door, but very nearly. Silver slumped, leaning his head on the door and loudly exhaled, his heart clenched in his chest. He swallowed and looked up, it was nearly dawn. 

Vale leant his back against the door. His heart was pounding in his chest. This complicated things. A lot. 

Silver's confession had shocked him. He'd thought that his feelings were entirely one sided and he'd been denying it to himself for weeks now. It was easier to say no to himself than it had been to say no to Silver. That had hurt, far more than anything he'd ever done. 

But he couldn't love Silver. 

He wouldn't. 


	113. Please shut up

"I love you, but please, shut up." Li Ming wearily rubbed at his forehead, staring at his work but not really seeing it. He was trying to focus, but he'd been awake for thirty-six hours or so, and Silver was blathering on about... Something? Maybe a new show at the opera? Or a restaurant? Either way, it was going through one ear and out of the other, yet it was still managing to distract him, maybe it was the soft purr of his accent. Silver dropped his glass and it shattered in the floor in a spray of vodka and cranberry, and shards of crystaline glass. He stared at it for a second, Li Ming looked up, staring at the dropped glass too, and then up to Silver's face. Silver took a deep breath and then looked up to Li Ming.

"Sorry. It... Slipped out of my fingers." He said. "I'll shut up."

"What's wrong?" Li Ming asked, reaching for his pen cap. "Something is on your mind?"

"Nothing." Silver said. "I'll... Leave you to your work and let you finish whatever it is, we can talk later, when you have the time." Li Ming got up. And came around his desk to touch Silver's wrist.

"For you, I always have the time." Li Ming said. "Even if giving you my time ends up with you driving me up the wall." Silver managed a small smile. "Now, tell me, what it is that has you so rattled." He smiled at him, Li Ming and Silver were of almost equal height and silver eyes met golden. Li Ming rested long fingers on his jaw, Silver's skin was warm against his cold touch.

"You said you loved me." Silver said, whispered, voice catching in his throat, like the words hurt him. "No one has ever... Well, no one has ever said that without what I am playing a part. They said it, but they never meant it." Li Ming had never heard such hatred in Silver's voice, he did not like who he was, what he was. His glamour seemed like a blessing to some but to never know if someone genuinely loved you? It was a torture that not many people knew.

"Well, I love you." Li Ming said, smiling softly. "And you better believe me when I say that, because I mean it. I love you. I can see straight through your glamour, no tricks or lies are making me love you." He brushed a loose strand of hair out of Silver's cat-like eyes. "We are very different. And that is one of the reasons why I love you." Silver leant in, brushing the tip of his nose against Li Mings, and kissed him softly.

"I love you too." He said against Li Ming's lips. "You can go back to your work now. I'll clean up the mess."

"Work can wait. Tell me about... Whatever it was you were talking about."

"You didn't hear a word I was saying, did you?" Silver asked with a laugh. "Something new is happening? I think?"

"Close enough, my dear."


	114. Ice cold

  
Kai's lips parted against Irene's. He reached past her to slam the door shut and backed her against it, she nearly tripped over her suitcase, having returned from a long trip away, he hadn't seen her in two weeks. He slid his fingers into her hair, aware that he was probably coming off as a bit desperate, but he didn't care, and Irene didn't either.  
Irene kissed him with just as much ferocity as he was kissing her with. She'd missed him too and pressed her body against his. He had barely given her the time to remove hat and gloves before sweeping her up in his arms and kissing her like his life depended on it, like she was more vital than oxygen. She was still in coat, scarf and boots.

It was snowing outside and she was cold, though Kai was doing an excellent job to change that, her fingers was still cold, she slid them over his hips, to his back. And slipped them underneath the back of his shirt before he could even realise what she was doing.

"Irene!" He gasped, pulling away from her. She laughed.

"Mm," She closed her eyes and leant her head back, against the door. "I like the sound of that." She pressed her hands flat against his back, feeling herself beginning to warm up much faster now that her hands weren't frozen.

"That's cruel."

"But you are doing an excellent job of warming me up." She said, smiling, opening her eyes just a little bit, to look at him from under his eyelashes. She reached out to grab his tie and she pulled him close, until there was an inch between their lips, she slid her hands higher up his back, raising goosebumps on his skin. She kissed him again, and Kai complied, he could take a little cold in exchange for the touch of her lips.

But she was on thin ice. 


	115. Hard to get

"No, I am not playing spin the bottle with you."

"But it will be fun!"

"There are only two people here!" Li Ming said. "And I wouldn't play with you anyway."  
"I like how that was an after thought." Silver said with a grin, bottle of what looked like absinthe in his hand. "Come on, we can get drunk out of our minds and forget that any of this ever happened."

"As tempting as that is, why would I drink with you? Let alone play spin the bottle with you?"

"Because we have to cooperate now? We just signed a treaty."

"A treaty does not mean that we play spin the bottle and other childish drinking games." Li Ming crossed his arms as he paced the small hotel room, both men waiting for respective members of their people. "Besides, do you really think now is the time to be playing games?"

"You try meeting the cardinal sober. He hates me." Silver said, shrugging, as if being hated by the Cardinal was a trivial, childish matter. More childish than spin the bottle. He got up to find himself a glass and poured himself a double measure. "Are you sure I can't tempt you? Or should you don't fly under the influence?" That nearly drew a smile out of him. "Just a little bit?"

"No thank you. I don't drink absinthe."

"Boring." Silver muttered as he sat down again. "Suit yourself."

"I think I shall." Li Ming replied rather smugly. Someone knocked on the door and he strode over to open it, Kai was on the other side.

"I'm taking Irene and Vale home." He said. "Father said you're free to return now. Thank you for your help." Li Ming bowed his head.

"Glad to be of service." He said before turning to Silver. "Good day, Lord Silver." His voice was sharp and curt, and then he left.

"Does he always play hard to get?" Silver asked Kai.

"Excuse me?"

"Li Ming. Playing hard to get? Or just cold?"

"I'm not dignifying that with an answer." 


	116. Can I kiss you?

  
It had been one of those days. One where everything seemed to go wrong in small, annoying ways that just built up, one on top of the other, until you're dragging yourself home at half ten at night, soaked from the rain, grumpy, tired and hungry.

Irene's day had started the way it normally did, with some papers to look over. Reaching for her favourite pen- Vale thought it was ridiculous that she had a favourite pen, but then ink was a beautiful emerald, the nib wasn't too sharp so it didn't scratch the page, and the grip of it felt natural in her hand- she'd realised that it was out of ink, and opening the desk drawer revealed that she needed to buy a new bottle of it. So instead she'd used one of the other pens, and made a note to buy a new bottle when she went out that afternoon. 

Kai worked at her side in relative silence, both content with this, only breaking it to ask for something or query a point in the pages. He'd left to assist Vale with a case just after they'd eaten lunch, the milk had gone sour and Irene's stomach clenched as she poured the rest of it down the sink, the smell making her feel a little sick, and she threw open the kitchen windows to try and erase the smell, though that just made the small room smell of coal. 

It was raining, something that she didn't often mind, but the strong wind ripped her umbrella out of her hand as she walked down Charing Cross Road, on her way to find a book that she had seen in an advertisement, that she'd been after for months. No umbrella and far too damp in her opinion, she found the right shop, there were a good many along the road, and stepped inside to inquire.  
Only to be told that the book had been sold a week ago. 

She'd left annoyed, and was promptly drenched as a cab decided to run through a huge puddle, going as fast as it could. It soaked through her coat and skirt, probably ruining her stocking and making its way into her boots. Cold and wet and very annoyed, she tried to get some ink but by the time she'd made it to the shop, it was already closing (flagging a cab had been impossible in the foul British weather), and she'd had to make another note to get it the next day if she had the time. 

She'd checked in at the Library, stared at a message from her mother, not entirely sure how to respond to it, before giving up and closing that tab. Coppelia had no messages for her, no new assignments or information. That shouldn't have made her more annoyed, after all, it meant that she had less to worry about. But it had been weeks since she'd done something other than paperwork, and it was beginning to gnaw at her mind. And, frankly, she was bored. Irene was not made for sitting around and signing pages. She was meant to be out there! Stealing books and going on adventures. 

She fumbled for her keys, dropping them into a puddle and swearing at herself for being a bit stupid, before managing to let herself in. The lights were on and Kai hurried down the stairs to greet her. 

"Get a little wet?" He asked as he helped her out of the sodden coat and hung it up for her. She glowered at him as she unpinned her hat and left that on the side before sitting on the penultimate step to undo her boots with a sigh. "Rough day?" 

"Very." She said. "First my pen, then the milk, then my umbrella gets ruined by the wind, I get wet, the shop doesn't have the book, a cab splashes me, the shop was closed before I could get there because I couldn't get a cab, no assignments at the Library, so nothing for me to do but paperwork and wait. And I'm just... Tired." Kai smiled, kneeling on the floor in front of her. 

"Can I kiss you?" He asked. Irene nodded and he touched her cheek, his hand warm on her cold skin, as he leant in and softly kissed her. Irene's eyes slid shut at the touch of Kai's lips to hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers in his hair as she kissed back. The kiss warmed her, front her head to the tips of her toes and she didn't want Kai to pull away, but he did so anyway. She managed a small smile, just for him. "Go and have a shower. I'll make you something to eat." 

"Thank you." 

"Anything for you, Irene." 


	117. Movie night

"What are we watching?" Kai asked, kicking his shoes off and depositing his bag by the door. He stooped to kiss Irene. "I'll be five minutes, I want to change into something that isn't a suit. Is it too early for pyjamas?" Irene looked down at her leggings and hoody that had definitely not been stolen out of his drawers.

"It's never too early for pyjamas." She said. "And I haven't decided yet. I was thinking... Starwars?" Kai wrinkled his nose.

"If we watch one, we'll want to watch the others and be up until three in the morning." He said.

"One tonight, one tomorrow night and one the night after?" Irene suggested.

"One tonight and then the others at the weekend. I think I'll be working late tomorrow." He said and she nodded. "Five minutes. Maybe longer. I'm starving."

"Dinners in the oven." She said. He stared at her. "Kidding. I ordered pizza, it should be here soon." Kai sighed. "My cooking isn't that bad. I haven't killed you yet."

"Yet." Irene pouted and he kissed her forehead.

"Go and change." She said. "I'll be here. Alone. Crying."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He said. "Love you!"

"I love you too." Irene said, brightening up and making him chuckle before he headed upstairs to their bedroom. Vale was working late on something or other, giving them the house to themselves, which meant that they had peace and quiet to watch the film without Vale tutted at them as they canoodled on the couch.

They ate the pizza as the film was starting, leaving some for Vale if he wanted it, and breakfast if he didn't. Then Irene grabbed one of the thick blankets and threw it over them as she lay her head on Kai's chest and he wrapped his arms around her. She could have easily fallen asleep, laying as they were. Kai was muscular, but not to the point were he was uncomfortable to all but lay on, and he was warm. His arms around her made her feel safe and when he kissed the top of her head, she felt a warmth through her chest. She shifted enough to kiss him on the lips before laying her head down on his chest again, not wanting to strain her neck, even if he was a fantastic kisser.

"What was that for?" Kai asked, running his fingers down her spine.

"Do I need a reason?" Irene asked. She had to sit up to be able to move in a way that wouldn't send her falling onto the coffee table, or elbowing Kai somewhere that it'd really hurt. She lay on her front, propping her chin up on the back of her hands, she smiled.

"No." He said. "Please, keep kissing me for no reason whatsoever, and when you have a reason to kiss me too. Please, just don't ever come up with a reason to not kiss me."

"What if I just brushed my teeth, but you hadn't yet? Or you'd just drunk orange juice?"

"Smarty pants." Kai muttered and she laughed. "Fine. Never think of a reason to never kiss me again." He said. "Don't not kiss me again, even if you have to wait until after I have brushed my teeth too." An x-wing loudly exploded in the background as Irene lay her head down. Kai pulled the blankets up to her shoulders, running his hand through her hair over and over again until Irene's eyes slid shut, and her breathing slowed, and she fell asleep on his chest. He fell asleep not too long after, switching the TV off first.

Vale found them curled up together and sighed before flicking the light off, and leaving them there.


	118. Unexpected

"We have a problem." Irene said. "Potentially."

"What's wrong?" Kai said, jumping to his feet and reaching for her hand. Irene visibly withdrew. Wrapping her arms her self, and hunching her shoulders, she stared at the floor. "Irene, you can tell us anything." 

"Irene?" Vale touched her shoulder, sliding his hands across her back, he pulled her close. "How big of a problem is it? We can do something before it gets out of hand."

"Small, for now." She said, resting her head on his shoulder, she reached out her hand for Kai, knowing that there was a good chance that her news was going to scare one of them away. “I’m pregnant.” Vale stiffened before he took a step back, holding her at arms length.

"Are you sure?" Kai asked. Irene nodded.

"As sure as I can be right now." She said with a nod. "Unless I'm actually holding the b-" She nearly choked on the word. "I can't be one hundred percent certain."

"I need a drink." Vale said, releasing her and stepping back. "A strong one."

"Vale..." Kai said slowly.

"I need to get my head around this." Vale waved him off. "Who's is it?"

"I don't know." Irene said. "It could be either of you."

"Obviously." Kai muttered. "Sit down. I'll make some tea. Vale... Put the whiskey down, it won't help anyone right about now." Irene slowly sat on the edge of the couch, her brain was spinning out of control. She didn't know what to do, though she did know that there were options. She didn't have to keep the baby. And they wouldn't even be able to tell who the father was until... She took a deep breath.

"Do you want to keep it?" Vale asked in a hoarse voice from the other side of the room. We could... Give it up for adoption."

"I don't know yet." She said. "I'm still wrapping my head around it all. I mean, this was bound to happen, we weren't exactly careful, I just... Never thought." Kai came back in and she looked up at him, his smile was kind, and gentle, he was patient, not demanding a response from her, for her to decide then and there.

"How far along are you?" He asked, adding sugar to her cup.

"Five weeks." She said. "I started feeling sick last week and thought nothing of it. And then, this morning, I realised that I was late, and I put two and two together." Kai nodded, handing her the cup before giving Vale a strong cup of black tea. "And please don't ask if I want to keep them. I don't know." Kai nodded.

"That's fine." He said. "It's early days. We have time." Irene managed a smile. "You... The Library needs to know though. If you decide to carry to term and you get hurt, I don't want to think about it."

"I know." She said. "Vale?"

"I still don't know what to say." Vale said after a long pause. "Would it even be a good idea for the three of us to raise a child together? What about the one of us who isn't the father? What role would they play?"

"If it isn't mine, I am happy to still be here to help and support you, and that wouldn't change the way I feel." Kai said. "And I would care for the child too, like it was my own. Bloodline doesn't matter. Not to me." Irene swallowed and nodded, smiling. She turned to Vale.

"You don't have to stay, if you don't want to." She said. "I wouldn't hold it against you."

"I love you." Vale said. "Both of you. This my take some getting used to, and, well, if we have a baby here, that will take some getting used to as well. But I'm not leaving you, either of you." He came around the small coffee table to sit by Irene and he kissed her forehead. "But things are going to get really weird if we have a baby half dragon flying around."

"Things aren't weird already?" Kai asked with a grin, slipping his arms around Irene to hold her close to him. "We are a dragon, Librarian and part Fae living in a polyamarous relationship and occasionally go and commit crimes in order to stop crimes."

"Touché." 


	119. Bless you

Irene had only been down the street when she'd heard the banging sound and a sudden burst of rain swept the streets, she swore to herself, picked up her skirts and ran. Had the rain not started, people would probably be out looking for the commotion. She made it to the flat in record timing, racing up the stairs.

"Kai?" She shouted. The study door was shut and she tried to push it open.

"Ow. Please don't do that." He groaned.

"Are you behind the door?" She queried.

"Don't get mad."

"About what? You're just behind the door. Let me in. Are you hurt?"

"I sneezed." He said. "And well..." She heard creaking and when she tried the door again she managed to get it open enough to sidle in through the gap. And stop. And stare. "I'm sorry." Coils of Kai were pressed against the walls and bookcases. There were books on the floor and the desk was definitely destroyed. "I didn't mean to."

"What the hell?"

"I sneezed."

"Is this normal?" He chuckled.

"Irene, what's normal about having a Dragon in your study?"

"Touché." 


	120. Promises

“Do you pinky promise?”

"What are you? Five?" Kai snorted.

"Yes. Yes I am." Irene rolled her eyes. "Look, you can either pinky promise me that you  come home safely or..."

"Or what?" Irene asked as Kai searched his brain for a suitable threat. Eventually he gave up. His shoulders slumped and he set his hands on Irene's shoulders and pulled her close.

"Just promise that you'll come home." He whispered into her hair. "I miss being able to go on assignments with you. I want to be there to help, to watch your back and make sure that you make it home safely." She touched his cheek, her fingers always felt cold to him, or maybe he was just always hot. He tightly clasped her hand.

"I promise." She said. "I will come home to you." She pushed herself up onto tiptoes and brushed a kiss to his lips. "I cannot promise that I won't come home with bruises and cuts, but I can promise that I will do anything in my power to come home." He smiled, knowing that that was the most he would be able to get, knowing that was all Irene could promise because being a Librarian was dangerous and there was no certainty that she would be back again, not when the assignment was more than just buying a book, when it was stealing from a prized collection of a mad man torturing witches.

"Come see me when you do return?" He asked, Irene smiled.

"Of course I will." She said. "I may not be able to work with you, but that doesn't mean that we can't talk about it when I do. You'll hardly notice I'm gone, I have no doubt that Vale will keep you busy the entire time I'm gone. I should be less than a week." She sighed. "I should be leaving. There's a lot to do." Kai kissed her forehead.

"Stay safe." He said. "Take care. Come home."

"Home. I like the sound of that." 


	121. Snow ball fight

The snow ball hit Li Ming in the face, taking him completely by suprise. He whipped his head around to see who had thrown it, expecting to see the Prince, the gossamer threads of his silvery hair caught on the icy winds that cut through clothes as his eyes settled on the Fae, and narrowed. Lord Silver, though Li Ming doubted that he deserved that title, he was probably born into it and had done nothing to deem himself worthy of it. Li Ming had been born into his own title, but he did like to think that he'd worked hard to earn his position in society, and that he deserved it. Unlike him.

  
Another snowball was thrown his way, it hit his shoulder and exploded in a puff of white powder, snow clinging to the wool of his coat. He pressed his lips into a thin line before bending down to make his own ball, if that's how it is going to be, then that is how he will play. The wind picked up, whistling through the empty London street, and the snowflakes, currently lazily floating down from pale grey clouds, began to grow in size and streak down heavier now. His ball of snow, pressed as tightly as he could manage, hit Lord Silver squarely in the jaw, illiciting a startled cry of shock. Li Ming smiled in spite of how stupid they were being. It was... Fun.  
Silver laughed, throwing another snowball, Li Ming blocked it with his forearm before throwing his own missile and closing the gap between them, slamming into Silver and knocking him into a snowbank.

With snow now pelting them from above, Silver was struggling to keep up with Li Ming and was hit time after time, usually in the face, by Li Ming's impeccable aim. He hissed and ran after the Dragon, determined to get his own back and push him down, into the snow. "Ming!" Li Ming's step faltered and Silver used the missed step, and his momentum, to send them both down into the thick snow. It was like having iced water suddenly thrown over him as they both hit the floor. Li Ming's growl was beautifully ferocious as he pushed Silver away and quickly pinned him down, pushing him into the snow.

"Don't. Ever. Call. Me. That. Again." He said through gritted teeth. Silver stared at him. Gods was the dragon beautiful when angry. Absolutely beautiful. Flashing red eyes, silver hair falling about his face, a smattering of scales along sharp cheekbones...

Silver grabbed the front of his coat and pulled Li Ming down to him, and kissed him. Li Ming recoiled in disgust, looking, for a brief moment, like he may be physically sick. And then he was holding Silver down and kissing him such a ferocity that it made his lips burn despite the sub zero temperature. Li Ming caught Silver's lower lip between his teeth, biting down and tugging on the tender flesh until he heard Silver groan in both pain and pleasure, and released him, before kissing him with the same bruising force all over again.

Silver was grasping onto his coat as hard as he could, kissing Li Ming with sheer desperation in his heart and one his mind, loving the way that it hurt perfectly, only for Li Ming to soothe the ache with a flick of his cold tongue over his now swollen lower lip.

"I have a house you know." Silver gasped, when Li Ming relented his attack on his lips. "I even have a garden if you'd prefer to continue this still in the snow but more private than a random back street. Someone may find us." Li Ming sat back on his heels with a huff, feeling water begin to seep through his trousers, it had been doing that before hand, he'd just been distracted.

"No. You're coming home with me." He replied, standing up and offering Silver a hand to his feet. "I would never go home with you." 


	122. Bloody mess

Irene's mouth tasted like blood. Dried cuts, that threatened to split when she talked, were gouged into her lips. Her head hurt, her left eye was circled by a bruise that started by her temple and finished by the bridge of her nose. Her left hand was bandaged with two of her fingers being broken and taped together, the nails blackened and threatening to come off.  
Vale's housekeeper came bustling out to greet her. "Miss Winters! Good heavens what has happened?" She quickly helped Irene out of her coat"

"I had a bit of a rough weekend." She said. "Are Vale and Kai in?"

"I'm afraid not. Why don't you wait upstairs and I will bring you up some tea, they shouldn't be out for much longer." Irene had only meant to sit down and drink her cup of tea, but she slipped asleep with the cup still half full, her head on the horse hair pillow that Vale kept on the couch for some reason, it wasn't very comfortable.

"Miss Winters is here." The housekeeper said when Vale and Kai returned. "She's just upstairs. The poor thing looks like someone attacked her though." Vale and Kai glanced at each other. Irene had been away for two weeks, she'd only meant to be one week and they'd both been worried when she hadn't returned on the day she'd said that she would.

Kai took the stairs two at a time.

Irene was laying on the sofa, her hair a bit messy and some of it fell to cover her eyes.  He knelt down by her and gently ran his fingers over her face, pushing her hair back. "Heaven and earth." He breathed. "Irene? Irene?" He shook her a little, her eyes fluttered but she didn't open them. Vale stepped forward and pinched her and this time her eyes opened and stayed open.

"Did I fall asleep?" Her voice was a little mumbled, words blending together.

"What happened?" Kai demanded, he helped her sit up and put his hands on her jaw. "Heavens Irene. You look like hell."

"I feel like it too." She said. "Someone pushed me out of a cab."

"One here?" Vale asked, Irene shook her head.

"A car. You saw them in Paris." She explained. "Only this one was going a lot faster."

"You're very lucky." Kai muttered. "That could have killed you."

"I've just spent four days in a hospital, believe me, I know." Kai's eyes narrowed and she touched his cheek with her mainly uninjured hand.

"How badly hurt are you?" Vale asked, sitting next to her.

"Four broken ribs, two broken fingers, the concussion is fading but post-concussive-syndrome feels like hell. The black eye and probably a dozen more bruises. A couple of... I don't know if it has a technical term. Abrasions? Basically my leg is a bit painful because some of the skin got ripped off."

"Roadrash?"

"Pretty much?" Irene said. "Either way it hurts and the risk of infection is big so I have to be really careful and keep it clean." She sleepily blinked, resting her head on Vale's shoulder for a second before pulling herself upright again. "Sorry."

"It's alright." Vale said. "Do you have the things you need to care for the injuries?"

"I think so." She said. "I usually keep a fully stocked medicine cabinet. I'm probably running low on painkillers but I can survive. I've had worse."

"That's not the way that this works." Kai said. "If you keep saying you've had worse, you'll get to a point where you either won't know how to cope when you experience worse, or you won't get help for something serious because you don't think it's that bad." He tucked her hair behind her ear. "How bad is it really Irene?" Irene exhaled and dropped her head.

"I feel like hell." She confessed. "Everything is burning, my head hurts and right now I am just so, so tired." 

"Why don't you stay here tonight." Vale said. "That way there's two of us to keep an eye on you, concussions can be nasty for a very long time."

"I'll be fine, really." Irene said. Neither man looked convinced.

"Let me try it this way." Vale said. "I'm not giving you a choice. Strongrock?"

"Seconded." Kai said. "Irene, please listen to reason. You need to get some rest but you can't with that concussion. Let us keep an eye on you for tonight."

"I am an adult." Irene replied. 

"Then act like one."

"Why are you so stubborn at times?" Kai asked. "Irene, we want to help you, let us. You've helped both of us before, it's time we repay that." He ran the pad of his thumb over her swollen lip. "I'll go home and fetch you some clothes and something to read, alright? Indulge us, for tonight at the very least."

"Fine." Irene relented. "But only for tonight. Tomorrow I want to go home."

"Thats fine." Kai said before he kissed her forehead, he was fairly certain that it was the only part of her that he could kiss without causing her any pain.

"Go and get some sleep in the second bedroom." Vale said, standing up. "I can keep an eye on things whilst you go home Strongrock."

"I'm not tired."

"We had to wake you up when we got here." Vale said. "And you didn't come around as easily as you normally did. So what you are going to do, is go into that spare room, you are going to have a sleep for an hour and one of us will wake you up afterward. Clear?"

"Vale. If you ever speak to me like that again, I will smack you so hard." Irene said cooly.

"And I will smack you harder." He replied. Kai rolled his eyes. The pair of them could be so damned stubborn.

"Irene, please get some more rest. Vale, let's not injure her any further. Try not to smack each other whilst I'm picking up some things." He stood up. "I'll be an hour. Don't kill each other." He stooped to kiss Irene's forehead again. "Alright?" 


	123. Date a dragon

  
Date a dragon who likes to be the little spoon

Four in the morning was never a good time to be woken up, but with both her and Kai suffering from nightmares, it was a pretty regular occurrence. She'd had a slew of them over recent weeks. And now it seemed that it was Kai's turn to wake up in a blind panic. 

"I've got you." Irene said, half asleep still, she wrapped her arm around his middle, he was trembling.

"It was awful Irene." He whimpered.

"I know, I know. But it's alright now. I'm here." She pressed herself against his back, ignoring the sweat on his skin. "I've got you." His legs were tangled with the sheets so she kicked them away, hooking her legs around them instead, all but pinning his body to hers, anchoring him against her. His breathing was easing a little. "I love you." She could feel the muscles of his stomach, wound tight and taunt from stress, and she slowly began to trace circles over and over again.

Date a dragon who purrs 

Kai made a small sound in the back of his throat, a soft... Well, she wasn't entirely sure what it was. She could feel it vibrate through his body. She repeated the action a few more times and he kept doing it.

"Kai... Are you... Purring?"

"I can't help it." He muttered. Irene smiled, dragging her fingers over his hip bones and illiciting a higher pitched purr.

"That's... Adorable honestly." She said.

"I feel like you're teasing me." He said. Irene wound her fingers around in slow circles.

"I'm only teasing you because it means that I can hear you purr." She said. "How have I never heard this before?"

"I'm normally awake enough to control myself." He said. "Or distracted."

"Distracted?" He rolled over to look at her and arched a brow. "Oh. Can't purr whilst moaning. Got it." He laughed and pulled her in for a kiss.

Date a dragon that melts in comfort and sweetness everytime you give them a hug or kiss

Irene kissed him back, albeit briefly, before she pulled away, Kai nearly pouted, looking dissapointed that she'd barely indulged him. He was about to utter her name when she took his hand and kissed the palm, and then his wrist, before releasing him again. She pressed kisses to his shoulder, throat, jaw, she peppered little kisses over his cheeks, the bridge of his nose and forehead.

He was purring again as Irene smiled against his bare skin. She slid her fingers over his side, wrapping him up in a tight embrace. She shifted slightly, her hand on the back of his shoulder, she swept his hair out of the way so that she could press kisses to shoulder and the side of his neck. He rested his forehead on Irene's collar bone, the purring was getting a little louder.

"That sounds so good to hear." She said softly, lips against his skin. "Listening to you purr for me." She slid her fingers into his hair, almost massaging her fingers over his scalp.

"It feels good." 


	124. Cheesy

“I dreamed about you last night. I woke up happy.” Kai slid his arms around Irene's hips and kissed her jaw.

"I'm trying to brush my teeth. Shoo." Irene replied. Or at least, that's what he assumed she was trying to say as she had a toothbrush in her mouth and everything came out a little like gobbledygook. Two minutes later and she was back in their bedroom and she kissed him, mouth tasting like peppermint. "Have I ever told you that you are incredibly cheesy? Romance novel, hallmark movie levels of cheesy." She smiled as Kai wrapped his arms around her.

The sun was rising and the room was filled with a warm orange glow that did nothing to combat the frigid chill of November air that seeped in through thin window panes and drafty doors. Irene's fingers were cold on the back of Kai's neck but he didn't care.

"I can take that." He said. "I'd make every day like one out of a romance novel if you would let me. I'd shower you in flowers and jewels and anything that you could ever desire if I meant that I went to sleep dreaming of you, waking up happy, with you by my side." Irene smiled and kissed him again. "I love you."

"I love you more."

"I love you the mostest."

"That's not a word."

"I love you so much that I made a new word, just to tell you how much I love you." 


	125. Swimming lesson

"Are you sure that you won't swim Irene?" Kai's tone was childish, whiny, but it didn't match the bright light in his eyes. He was messing around. "I'll teach you so you won't drown."

"I can swim." She said, shaking her head. "And no, I don't have a swimming costume anyway." Kai looked at the empty beach.

"There's no one around. We could go skinny dipping." He said, arching an eyebrow. She crossed her arms. "You aren't shy are you? You can leave your underwear on."

"I don't like showing off my brand." She said. "If anyone comes down here and sees us..." It was late, the sun was setting and they were both surprised to find themselves on an empty stretch of beach. Kai had begged her to stop for a rest, it was a long walk back to the Library in this world, and he was tired and the sea was calling to him.

"No one's coming down here but us Irene." He said. "It's... Abandoned. I don't know why, it is beautiful out here. Just... Look at that veiw." She inhaled, tasting the salty spray on the air, she could feel the sand under her toes, both of them had pulled off their shoes and socks to walk on the sand without slipping. "Come for a swim with me, what's the worst that can happen? People will just think that you have a tattoo." He held his hand out to her. He was wearing swimming shorts already, and a t-shirt. She was in a light summer dress, catching in the wind. "I won't let you drown." Irene sighed, he seemed like he wasn't about to give this up.

"On one condition." She said. He sighed, and nodded. "You do the shopping when we get back."

"Is that it?"

"And cook dinner." She added.

"Easy." He said. "Lets find somewhere to leave our bag and get in the sea." Irene waited until Kai was already heading toward the waves before she stripped off her summer dress and stuffing it into her bag, glad that her underwear was pretty plain and simple and not scanty. The sea was cold as it lapped at her toes and she nearly turned back.

"Come on." Kai said, turning back to her, his skin glowed under the setting sun. He was smiling at her, the picture of beautiful serenity. She took a few more steps into the waves, and took his hand as he held it out to her.

"If I didn't know you so well, I would have sworn that you just want to see me in my underwear." She said, shaking her head. "At least I think you are a gentleman."

"I'd never do something that sleazy." Kai said, shaking his head. The water was up to her hips now. "No, I just thought it'd be fun and something to do, to relax and take the edge off." A wave came up and he wrapped an arm around her when her step faltered. "Don't worry, I've got you." He said. He kept leading her out until the water was over her waist.  
"I will admit that it feels good, a little cold though." She said. "The sunset it just beautiful."

"Yeah." Kai said, looking at her, her faces was painted with the sun's glow. "Stunning. Do you trust me?" She nodded. "Relax, and lean backward. I won't let you sink." She frowned, his hand was on the middle of her upper back, on the brand, and he supported her as she leant back. He slid his other hand under her legs until she was held in his arms, weightless in the water. "Stretch your legs out, and relax." He said. She did so and he kept his hands underneath her just to keep her in place. Her hair floated out in the water, she'd left it untied for a change.

A wave came up and she panicked, kicking her legs. "Woah Irene. I've got you." Kai said, bringing her close to his chest. "Don't worry. I've got you, you won't drown, I promise." He smiled down at her. "I'll keep you safe. Relax, the waves aren't that big, they won't pull you under." He carefully released her, Irene reached out for him on instinct. "Relax." He repeated. "Or you will go under." She held her breath and let him go, trying to make herself relax.

"On the one hand," She said a minute later. "This is mildly pleasant, on the other hand, the constant fear of drowning is deeply unpleasant, making this experience unpleasant overall." Kai sighed.

"I'm a Dragon Irene. I can control the flow and the tide, I can bend the current, and I can guarantee that you will not drown." He said, sliding his arms around her again. "Can you still touch the floor? We're a bit further out now." She looked back to the shore, there were maybe thirty metres from it now. She carefully tried to put her legs down, tips of her toes brushing the sand but only just.

"Barely." She said. She kicked her legs to stay affloat.

"I'm going to let go of you know." He said, "You'll be fine, just keep treading water." He released her and backed up a few metres, he was tall enough that he could still stand on the floor. "Swim to me." She did so. "It's like watching a puppy." He remarked with a smile.

"At least I don't drown." She said, he wrapped an arm around her hips. "Which is good enough to me."

"Yeah, when I'm with you." Kai said, grinning down her, he was so close, she was fairly certain that she would actually drown in his embrace and not the sea.

"I swam through the canals in Venice." She said. "You weren't there, and I didn't drown."

  
"True." She could taste salt on her lips from the droplets of spray hitting her face. He released her, Irene sunk for a moment before she kicked her legs and pushed herself back to the surface. "You good?" She nodded. He took a step away, before turning to dive under the water. He reappeared some ten metres away. She sighed before splashing towards him, making him laugh at her. "You need to keep your arms and your legs straighter." He said, holding her again. No, this wasn't an attempt to get to see her in her underwear, this was an excuse for multiple hugs. Not that she was complaining. "Try it again." And again he dove under the water and reappeared. Irene started to swim toward him, keeping her legs and arms as straight as she could, when a wave swept over her.

She went under.

She kicked for the surface, but was pushed under again. Her toes touched the sand and she pushed herself off the bed to kick for the surface.

Something grabbed her and she thrashed to get away, panicking as her lungs burnt. They grabbed her again, this time around the waist, warm hands on bare skin and the back of her mind reminded her that Kai had made her a promise. They broke the surface and she clung to him, gasping for air. "I've got you." He said, keeping his arms around her, her forehead on his shoulder. "I've got you, you're okay Irene. You're okay." Her arms were tight around him. "Let's get back to shore." He said. "The tide is coming in." It was slow to get back to the shore, he kept a hold of her the entire time, she didn't want to let go, lest she go under again, but eventually they staggered up onto the sand again, dripping wet and still clinging to each other, Irene wasn't entirely sure that her legs wanted to work, and Kai wasn't about to complain.

"Maybe, let's not do that again." She said. "I'll just, splash around desperately next time I'm in deep water. And wait for you to save me." Kai smiled.

"I'll always save you." 


	126. Numb

"My fingers are numb." Irene mumbled, blinking eyes that suddenly felt like led. Vale turned to her, worry clear in his eyes as she nearly lost her balance. "I don't feel well." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently put his fingers against her cheek, she flinched away, he was too warm, the contact felt like burning.

"We need to get you home." He said. "Before hypothermia can set in. Do you think you can walk?"

"Maybe?" He mouth felt wrong. "Can I lean on you?" He grabbed one of her arms and slung it over his shoulders whilst tightening his grip on her. "OK. Let's go." Irene could walk, but only just, it was more of a stagger and he had to take most of her weight to stop her going face first into the snow.

It had been fine to begin with, she was helping him poke around a warehouse reported to house a crime syndicate. But whoever had provided the information had been wrong and it had been long since abandoned and was in such a state of disrepair that even squatters wouldn't touch it.

Irene had decided to test the rotton steps up to the second floor, she was smaller than Vale anyway, lighter. She had managed to make it all of the way to the top before something crunched and she felt her foot give way. She'd thrown herself up to the second floor just in time to save herself. And trip up and fall.

She'd taken her gloves off whilst examining something and hadn't thought to put them back on, she couldn't feel through the thick leather so, after checking with Vale (no finger printing wasn't a common practise, but now he wanted to know how it worked) she had removed them.

She'd fallen into snow. Then roof had caved in at some point and it was thick and undisturbed. Her hands had gone straight into it as she tried to catch herself and she had lay there in mute shock for a minute or so, maybe more, she wasn't entirely sure, before Vale called out her name. She'd got up with chattering teeth and told him that there was just snow up there, and to not use the stairs.

Vale managed to flag down a cab, in which he helped Irene out of her wet coat, it was beginning to soak through to her dress, and wrapped his around her shoulders, before giving her his scarf and gloves, though the gloves were a little big on her and he idly wondered if she'd ever played the piano for she had the long, slim fingers that were perfect for the instrument, or perhaps the violin, she'd certainly expressed a certain delight when she'd come over and seen him practicing in the study, her eyes had lit up in a way he thought was reserved for Kai and Detective novels.

Her hands were cold as ice and she was shivering despite what he had done. Her breathing was coming out a little raspy and her skin had a greyish colour to it that was filling him with a nauseating sense of fear.

Irene was sick.

She was really sick and it was all of his fault and if this bloody cabbie didn't hurry up, he rapped on the window and ordered him to go faster, than she was going to pass out and would be incredibly difficult to wake up, if he managed to wake her again.

The cab drew level with Irene and Kai's lodgings, and the embassy, and Irene managed to stagger down to the pavement. He grabbed her wet coat, paid the cab and grabbed her again, it said something about her that she'd nearly managed to make it to the door, stubbornness mainly. He had a key and let them in.

"Strongrock?" He hung Irene's coat up to dry and began to help her up the stairs. He heard Kai moving around upstairs. "I need your help. Now." He appeared in the hallway, took in Irene's sorry state and immediately swept her up into his arms and carried her to their bedroom.

"What happened?" Kai demanded as he removed the outerwear and set it to one side.

"She fell into a lot of snow." Vale said. "She must have not put her gloves back on, she was soaked through, I did what I could in the cab but there wasn't much." Kai nodded. Irene's dress was damp and though he knew she'd protest and be very annoyed later on, he made quick work of the buttons as at the front of her dress. She was wearing quite a thick chemise underneath, which was thankfully still dry, so he wouldn't have to strip her down to her underwear.

"Can you hold her up so I can get this off?" Vale sat on the edge of the bed and held onto the barely conscious Irene as Kai pulled her skirt down her legs, and then her boots and silk stockings. "Okay, that should help. Let's get her wrapped up and hopefully, no damage will be done." Her eyes were fluttering as Irene struggled to stay conscious. Vale fetched more blankets from the airing cupboard whilst Kai helped Irene get comfortable in the bed, covered tightly wrapped around her. They added the blankets and Kai lightly brushed his fingers over her forehead.

"You can sleep now." He murmured, before leaning down to kiss her forehead. "I'll wake you in a little while with a cup of tea." She made a soft noise of agreement and Kai flicked the light off.

"I'm so sorry that I let this happen." Vale said in a grave voice as Kai shut the bedroom door behind him. He didn't like being around Kai and Irene when they were so... He wasn't sure of the word. But either way, it felt like he was prying into their relationship. Not to mention the jealousy, but he had to keep reminding himself that he chose to reject Irene and he could only blame himself for his lonlieness, and of course she had moved onto someone much better. It was what she deserved.

Kai just waved his hand. "I know you wouldn't ever deliberately put her in harms way." He said. "You clearly care about her far too much for that." Vale swallowed. "Thank you for making sure that she made it back. She'll be fine once she's warmed up again, maybe a little under the weather for a few days. But she'll be fine." Kai kept telling himself that, he knew, medically speaking, that she would be fine, but he did have a tendency to worry. "I think you could probably do with something hot to drink as well." He swept his eyes over Vale. "You're probably cold too."

"I didn't really notice." Vale shrugged and Kai tsked in a way that he'd most definitely picked up from Irene.

"Tea or coffee?"

"Tea, please." Vale said, he was suddenly tired but he knew it was because of the stress of making sure that Irene was going to be okay, and not the cold. He sat down in his usual armchair. There were photos about the mantlepiece. Kai had found an old camera in the attic of the new house, abandoned, and he'd got it repaired and working. Naturally Irene had been his first subject, there were a few of her, awkwardly smiling unsure of what to do. One was of her asleep on the sofa, she'd been mad when he put it up but didn't try to take it down. Then he'd pestered Vale as well, before finally working out how to delay the taking of the picture, so he could be in them as well, and there were pictures of all three of them, Kai with his arm around Irene's shoulders and she was smiling at him whilst Vale wished that he wasn't there. That one was newly developed, it hadn't been there two days ago.

"It came out pretty well." Kai said, following his eye line as he he handed over a steaming cup of tea. "Would it hurt you to smile though?"

"Probably." Vale said dryly. "Thank you." Kai sighed before throwing himself into his usual seat.

"I need to talk to you about something." Kai said after a long moment.

"What's the matter?" Vale set his tea cup down and laced his fingers together.

"I know about your feelings for Irene." He felt ice solidify in his stomach, he thought that he had hidden that well. That no one else could possibly have known, except for maybe Irene.

"I don't." Vale said after a long pause. He forced a chuckle. "Really Strongrock, I didn't take you for the jealous kind."

"I'm not." Kai shrugged and took a sip of his tea, not caring about the fact that it was still hot enough to burn his lips, he quite liked it in fact. "It's obvious. If I've noticed, Irene probably has too. I can't work out who it's worse to hear say it, me, or her, but I decided to." 

"I don't." Vale said, shaking his head. 

"I'm not angry." Kai said. "I don't even mind that much if you do have feelings for her. She's… amazing, why wouldn't you?" Vale very much wanted to run out into the snow in order to avoid the rest of this conversation. And hey, if he was killed by pneumonia, he'd never had to hear the second half of it. "I don't want this to get in the way of our friendship." Kai said. 

"It won't." Vale said quietly. "And I have no intention of ever telling her how I feel toward her. I don't want to get in the way of what you two have, she's far happier with you than she'd ever be with me." 

"I didn't mean it like that." Kai said, shaking his head. "Our friendship, not yours and Irene's. If you want to… Court her, I say go for it, just don't sneak around behind my back. And don't wallow in jealousy, it's no good for anyone."

"Pardon?"

"Irene and I have talked about it before. She said she'd never approach you, but consider it if you ever approached her. Just something for you to think about." 

"Yeah… Hang on, I am a little lost."

"Im trying to set you up with my romantic partner." Kai said. "Come on, keep up." 

"But why?" 

"Because monogamy is all well and good but not for everyone. And I do not mind sharing." He checked his watch. "I'm going to make Irene some tea and wake her up, think about it. And speak to her when she feels better, or you'll miss your chance." 


	127. Chapter 127

Irene rubbed at her forehead, it was aching, a dull pounding sensation was growing behind her eyes. "How bad?" Li Ming asked. It had been his turn to bring the wine. He certainly had expensive taste, she wasn't about to complain though.

"My head is killing me." She said. "It's been a long day. Thank you." She was in the flat that Li Ming had taken near marble arch, she wished that she had the funds for this kind of accommodation. She supposed that it was in case any of Kai's kin stopped by. Lush carpets and heavily cushioned seats and sofas. Plenty of books, good ones ranging from the latest fiction and some actually quite interesting academic literature.  
"What was he doing?"

"What was yours doing?" She asked, Li Ming looked a little scruffier than normal, his hair wasn't as neatly tied back and his tie was slightly loose, though that could have just been to be more comfortable in his own flat.

"Distracting me from my work. He didn't want to do anything and therefore, he didn't want me to do anything either." Li Ming said with a sigh. "It's hard to work whilst I have him going on down my ear. What was the Prince up to then?"

"Something similar. He wants to go out on a date. I'm fine with that, I don't mind. I quite enjoy it when we go out. But when I have things that do need to get done, namely Library business, then I can't drop it to go out for lunch. Even its very tempting."

"I suppose that it's... Kind that they think to try and encourage us to do these things." Li Ming sighed.

"Yes, I suppose so. I'd probably be a bit of recluse if I didn't have Kai to coax me out every now and then." She fondly smiled. "And I do enjoy myself. I'd have gone out with him tonight if we didn't already have plans to... Drink too much. He'll be picking me up in an hour or so."

"Good, it's too dangerous for you to be out alone after dark." Li Ming said. "Too many stories about young women disappearing."

"Thank you for worrying but I can look after myself." Irene said, though she did like it when he worried about her, it made her feel like she was the most precious thing in the world to me. "Though I suppose that depends on how much we can drink in between now and then."

"Not that much." Li Ming said, shaking his head. "We both have work that's waiting for us in the morning. You come to drink to me because we are responsible about it."

"I know, I know. The hangover just wouldn't be worth it. And Kai will go out of his way to embarrass me if I leave here clinging to him. It would be embarrassing. I try not to be a drunken mess wherever he may see me. Can you get drunk?"

"It would take a lot of very strong alcohol. But yes." Li Ming said with a nod. "Which I don't intend on doing."

There's was a strange friendship. It had started shortly after Venice when he'd found her passed out on her work and offered her a drink. She hadn't expected for him to pour them both glasses of brandy and ask how she was. He kept topping it up until she'd felt fuzzy and had had to stumble to bed. It became habit, they'd take it in turns to supply alcohol and they'd talk. Usually about work but once he'd walked in on her and Kai curled up and kissing, and they'd found out about his liaisons with Silver (it was a mutual agreement that no one else was to find out about the whole entire thing) they'd talked about their partners as well.

"Kai went out to see Vale when I told him to leave me alone." Irene said, emptying her glass. She refilled hers and topped his up. "I got a message two hours later."

"Is he alright?"

"He's fine. Vale has two cracked ribs and a black eye however. He'll be fine. I just cannot believe how reckless those two can be at times. It's like neither of them have a lick of common sense." She sighed. "I love an idiot." Li Ming raised his glass.  
"I can drink to that." 


	128. Gun shot

"It's so cold." Kai's voice was faint, he coughed, chest heaving. His breaths were raspy and uneven. There was blood on his lips. 

“You need to hold on a bit longer, you are going to be fine. Just stay awake a little longer.” Irene whispered, squeezing his hand, Kai barely felt her tight grip as his eyes slid shut. "Kai! Please. Please stay with me, you just need to stay awake a little while longer. Help is on the way." His breathing was slowing. She cupped his jaw, sliding her fingers across his skin and into his hair as she bent down and kissed him, tasting the copper tang of blood on his lips. She leant her forehead on his. "Please. Please, Kai. Please stay with me."

"Irene," He rasped her name and she squeezed her eyes shut, they were burning, trying not to cry. "I'm scared."

"I'm not going anywhere." She whispered. "I won't leave you. I love you, Kai, don't you dare leave me. Don't you dare let go."

"I don't want to." He said. He gasped in pain and Irene could hear fluid, probably blood, in his lungs. "I don't want to lose you. I don't want to go."

"You won't." She said. "You're not leaving me." She pressed her lips to his forehead. She was shaking. "Kai?" She pulled away, his eyes were shut. "Kai!" Her fingers found where his pulse should have been. Should have been. Her heart clenched, her throat was tight and she thought that she may choke. "No." She whispered. "Kai. No. No, please. No."

A hot tear slid down her cheek as she pulled him into her arms, ignoring the feel of his blood, hot and slick as it soaked through her skirt and blouse, she could feel it on her. She put her cheek against his, desperate to hear the sound of his breathing, but she heard nothing. She choked, clinging to him even tighter, she didn't know what to do, how to help him, if she could help him. Her brain was telling her that she knew CPR, that she could do something, but she was frozen, she couldn't bring herself to let go of him, to stop clinging. She gasped, she hadn't meant to burst into tears, but she did.

She sobbed, great, wracking heaves of breath as she begged and begged for him to just open his eyes again, to just... Breath.

The door opened behind her with a bang and she felt someone pulling her back, someone's arm wrapped around her waist and she was pulled to her feet and away from him. She screamed, thrashing to try and get back to his side, she didn't want to let him go, she couldn't.

"Winters." Vale shook her. "Irene! Irene, I brought help, you need to calm down." He pulled her out of the hallway and into the sitting room, dropping her into the armchair. "You're hysterical. Pull yourself together woman, you're better than this."

"He's dead." Irene managed to force out in between sobs. "He's dead. Vale. I couldn't..." She pressed her hands to her mouth, trying to control herself. "He's not breathing."

"He's strong, Winters," Vale said, shaking his head, a pit in his stomach. "He's... They can save him. He's not... We are not losing him today." She swallowed and choked. Vale huffed and stood up. He knew where the alcohol was stored and he busied himself with pouring Irene a large measure of brandy, trying to ignore the sounds that were coming from the hallway, with the way that Irene's eyes were fixated on the open doorway, she was trying to as well, and failing. He shut the door and pressed the glass into her hand, dropping to his knees in front of her. She downed the glass in three mouthfuls and set it down with shaking hands, leaving sticky blood prints on the rim of the crystal.

"What did you see?" He said in that slow, low voice that he used for talking to witnesses and the terrified victims of crime. And she supposed that she was both.

"Probably less than you." She said, throat a little hoarse. She wasn’t sure if they were the unlucky household that a stranger had decided to rob at gunpoint or if they had been targeted, her, Kai or Vale all had enemies and all of them would be willing to send a gunman after them. 

Kai had lurched forward to snatch the gun…

And they had put a bullet in his chest before running. Vale had ordered Irene to stay with Kai, and he’d run for help. Kai had shouted something that she hadn’t caught, it nearly sounded like a roar, ringing in her ears, before he had collapsed to the ground, choking on his own blood, having used the rest of his energy for that cry of anger.

Vale got up and refilled her glass, her hands were a little less shaky, and she drank it slower, this time. “Just tell me what you saw.” He said.

Irene finished off the drink and stared at the empty glass, tilting it to catch the light. “He was a little taller than me, maybe five feet and ten, or eleven, inches.” Vale nodded for her to go on. “Sandy brown hair, jaw length, quite messy. I don’t know what colour his eyes were, dark, I think. I don’t really remember what his face looked like. I think he had a scar.”

“What about his voice?”

“Birmingham accent, I think? Dudley, maybe black country? Midlands, definitely.” She touched her forehead before pulling her hand back, there was so much blood. She swallowed bile, feeling sick to the stomach. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her mouth, not wanting to smell the tang of his blood anymore.

She grabbed fistfuls of her skirt, winding the fabric around her fingers until it hurt, pulling at it until she was sure that she’d got most of the blood off her fingers. It had already dried around her fingernails.

“Did you get hurt?” She shook her head. “Good. I’m going to check what’s going on.” Vale said, he touched her wrist, one of the few signs of affection that Vale ever showed. He shut the door with a click behind him.

Irene shut her eyes as she leant her head back. Her cheeks were sticky with tears and smeared blood. Now that she was alone again and it was quiet, far too quiet, a tear slowly rolled down her cheek, she took a slow breath, as deep as she could manage.

Her heart was in her throat, she could feel it pounding and throbbing and she gagged, thinking that she was going to throw up, but she swallowed it back.

The door clicked open again and her heart stopped.

Li Ming stood in the doorway.

His smile was kind and calm, a slight curve to his lips, all gentle and soft, an expression at odds with what she knew about the man, and what she suspected his real job was. There was a spot of blood on his otherwise pristine white shirt. He sat on the seat next to her.

“He’ll be alright.” He said and Irene exhaled, she’d been unable to breathe and she felt dizzy. “They’re taking him upstairs.”

“How did you know?”

“He called out for help, I heard him and came.” Li Ming said. That must have been what he had shouted.

“You must have been near.”

“Not really. I think that you are in shock Miss Winters. I’ve been here for nearly an hour.”

“Oh.”

“You should go and wash the blood off yourself and get clean clothes on.” He stood up. “I will make sure that the prince is alright. Don’t worry, he’s going to be okay now.”

The shower felt good and she spent a half-hour scrubbing her skin clean. Her dress was definitely ruined, and she left it in a heap on the bathroom floor, padding to Kai’s room in bare feet, wrapped up in her dressing gown, with wet hair plastered to her cheeks.

Li Ming looked up. “How do you feel?” He asked her. Irene just shrugged as she sat on the end of Kai’s bed and leant against the post at the end, tucking her feet underneath her nightgown.

Kai looked peaceful and she was grateful that there were no traces of pain on his face, it was just like he’d fallen asleep. They’d cut his shirt off and someone had bound his chest with thick bandages and taken the time to wipe away most of the blood, but she could see the traces where they hadn’t wanted to scrub at his skin too hard.

“I am going to see what mister Vale knows.” Li Ming stood up and smoothed out his lapels. “You should get some rest yourself, he will sleep for a while, he needs it to heal.”

“I want to be here when he wakes up.” She said, he nodded and left.

She sat there, watching him breathe, his chest slowly rising and falling. After a while, Vale knocked and entered, he had a cup of tea and a plate of toast for her. “Are there any changes?”

“No.” She said softly. “He is sleeping. He hasn’t even moved.”

“These are for you.” He set the plate and cup on one of the bedside tables. “You need to eat and to sleep. I can sit in here with him if you want to go and get some rest.”

“I want to be here when he wakes up.” She said, shaking her head. Vale sighed. “But thank you for the food.” She didn’t eat it though, she picked at it. A few bits nibbled away, but mainly left to go cold. She drank half the tea, but she didn’t like sweet tea and Vale, assuming that she was still in shock, had put a lot of sugar in it.

Kai woke up staring at his ceiling. He frowned, putting his hand to his chest, where he could feel a sharp pang of pain. “Ow.” He muttered, someone chuckled and he turned his head to see. “Li Ming.”

“You do get yourself into all sorts of scrapes, don’t you, your highness?” He quirked a brow.

“I try,” Kai said, tiredly waving his hand, before dropping it onto the bed. “I got shot. I think?”

“Yes, you did.” Li Ming said with a nod.

“Where’s… Irene was with me! Oh god. I don’t think that she was hurt, but…” He tried to move, before choking on the pain and dropping to the bed again.

“Don’t move.” Li Ming put his hand on Kai’s shoulder so that he couldn’t try to sit up again. “Look to your left, she’d next to you.” Kai turned his head. “She passed out about an hour ago, I didn’t want to move her though, she’s been awake to wait for you, she needed her rest.”

“Of course,” Kai said. “Thank you for coming.” Li Ming just nodded. Irene made a soft noise and shifted in her sleep, her hand reaching for Kai. Kai smiled and took her hand, squeezing it slightly. “But, um, may I have some time with Irene? I think she’s waking up.”

“Of course.” He gave Kai a half bow. “Call for me if you require anything.” He left and once the door was shut, Kai did his best to roll over to face Irene, it hurt somewhat, but he healed fast and he managed to breathe through the burning pain.

“Irene.” He said softly. Her eyelids fluttered. “Irene, I need you to wake up now.” He squeezed her hand again. She groaned, opening her eyes, they slowly widened. “Hello, beautiful.” He tucked hair behind her ear. “What a view to wake up to.”

She slowly pushed herself up, head groggy and full of sleep. “You’re alive.” She breathed. “I thought that I had lost you.”

“I know.” He was still holding her hand. “I’m sorry. I scared you.”

“Are you seriously apologising for being worried?” She nodded. “Whatever am I going to do with you?” He lay on his back again with a sigh, touching the point on his chest that was hurting the most. “Do they have whoever did it?”

“I don’t know.” She said. “I don’t even remember falling asleep, laying down. I don’t think so, not yet.” There was a glimmer of red in his eyes and Irene lay next to him again, putting her head on his shoulder. “I was so scared.”

“I know.” He said. “I was too. I have never been scared of dying. But the thought of leaving you… Heaven and earth Irene, I cannot even begin to put into words how much you mean to me, how much I love you. I will never be able to express it, and I think my heart broke a little bit listening to you beg me to stay.”

“Well, you listened.” She said. “So I guess that it worked.” She was trying to not cry again.

“Yeah, I guess it did.” He said, Irene propped herself up on one arm and touched his jaw with her free hand. “You better be about to kiss me, because I really don’t think that I can sit up in order to kiss you.”

Her lips were soft against his and he smiled, eyes half shut when she pulled away from him again. “I should leave you to your rest.” She said.

“Stay.” He said. “I sleep better with you here after all.”


	129. Caught canoodling

Irene smiled, she and Kai had been helping Vale with a case and had been working well into the early hours, she could see the sun beginning to rise, pink light creeping around the edge of the curtains. She and Vale had gone to make coffee and rustle up something to eat, though they should be going to sleep, they weren't. Kai had fallen asleep in the two minutes they'd been downstairs. He was laying on his sofa, one arm tucked under his head, the other draped over his stomach.

She silently crept forward. 

Kai had a secret. It was a very poorly kept secret.

Kai was very ticklish.

She leant forward, and very carefully, she moved his hand off his stomach. She slid her finger under the edge of his shirt, it had come untucked several hours ago when Kai had decided that it was more important to be comfortable, he'd removed his tie and undone the top button of his shirt as well. She glided her fingers across the toned muscle of his stomach.

Kai's eyes snapped open and he yelped, it was nearly a scream, as he squirmed to get away. Irene pushed harder and he grabbed a hold of her hands.

He dragged her down to him, still half asleep, mind fuzzy and unsure of what was really going on. The sudden movements had knocked him off balance though and as he tried to sit up, he knocked both of them to the ground.

Kai caught her head before it could hit the hard wood floors and it was Irene's turn to yelp before she realised that they were safe and neither had been hurt.

She was pinned to the floor of Vale's study, Kai's body pressing down on hers, knees either side of her hips. He propped himself up on his free hand and looked down at her. There was a flicker of red in his eyes, a glimmer of scales across his pale skin. Both of their breaths came out a little fast, a little ragged and Irene could feel the thudding of her own heart as it raced.

"Don't." He said, his voice low with an odd timbre to it, like there were layers to it. "Tickle a sleeping dragon."

She was about to laugh when the door flew open. "What the devil?" Vale swore and Irene was suddenly far too aware of what it looked like. It looked like she and Kai had got a little carried away in his study the moment that he had turned his back. Irene's face was burning as a scarlet flush spread across her cheeks. 

Kai scrambled to his feet and then pulled Irene up as well. She quickly smoothed out her dress, staring at her feet trying to explain that it really wasn't what it looked like.  
"Kai is ticklish." She said after a moment.

"I accidentally knocked her over and fell too when she decided to wake me up." Kai explained Vale didn't look convinced. Kai reaching over to smooth down some of Irene's hair, a few curls had come loose at some point, wasn't helping either.

"I..." Vale rubbed his forehead. "Think we should all go and get some sleep. You two can fight over who's sleeping on the sofa. I'll get out some blankets."

"I don't mind sharing." Kai said.

"I mind!" Vale called back as he left. Irene finally laughed, Kai stared at her for a second, and then he laughed too. He slid his hands around her hips and softly kissed her.

"Sorry." She rested her head against his shoulder. "I think this is the most embarrassed I've been in a while. It's like getting caught by parents but somehow worse." He chuckled and she could feel it through his chest. 

"True, but only because I think that my father would approve of you as a choice in... Paramour, if you weren't a Librarian." She smiled. "You should sleep in the bed. I'll be fine out here."

"You should sneak in once he's asleep." He pressed his lips to her forehead.

"This place has thin walls." He said. "And you're tired. We all are. It would be an insult to our host if we ignored his wishes that we do not share a bed." She smiled.

"But I sleep better with you holding me." She hoped that her smile was coy. Kai made a low groaning noise and she knew that he was very tempted.

"I sleep better with you there too." He said, cupping her jaw. "But, and I can't believe that I am the one saying this, but you should go and put on your nightdress, and get some sleep. Try to get some sleep without me there. And I'll try and get some sleep too." She slowly exhaled. And rested her head on his shoulder.

"Fine." She said, she softly kissed him. "Sleep well."

Despite there being a spare room, when Vale came out of his bedroom a few hours later, a little better off after sleep, he wasn't at all surprised to find that Kai wasn't alone on the sofa. They hadn't shared the bed, instead, Irene was laying on Kai's chest, both curled up on the sofa with a blanket over them. He softly smiled, shaking his head, he should have expected this. He cleared his throat and Irene's eyes fluttered open. 

"Five more minutes." She muttered, turning her head away from him.

"Now Winters, Strongrock. I think you've had enough sleep." She and Kai startled awake. "Can we get back to work now? And keep the... Canoodling to a minimum?" 


	130. Kiss it better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during the Lost Plot, Irene tends to the cut Kai gets from Everiste's books

"Stay still." Irene said softly. They had locked themselves into the small bathroom so that Irene could check over Kai's head injury. He was perched on the edge of the bathtub and she sat next to him, awkwardly balancing a small first aid kit on her lap.

"Your hands are cold." Kai complained flinching a little when she prodded at the wound. "How are your hands so cold all of the time?"

"How are yours so hot?" She mused. There was a few balls of cotton and she grabbed one, splashing some antiseptic onto it. "This is going to sting."

"I know." Kai muttered, already accepting the fact. "It's fine, Irene, really. It's just a cut. And I heal fast." He healed very fast. He'd fully healed, albeit with scarring across his abdomen, from Alberich's attack in under two weeks.

"I know you do." She said, pressing the cotton pad to the cut and Kai hissed despite the warning. "But it needs to be cleaned up properly. It's not too deep, luckily."

"I know." Kai said, he caught her wrist and moved her hand away from his face. "Irene, I'm fine. It's just a small cut." The bathroom was small and cramped, they were pushed together, Kai was very close, she could feel the heat radiating out of his body and it was a comfort to her in such a stressful time. "Are you alright?"

Irene gave a small, jerky nod of her head. "I'm okay." She breathed. Kai slowly released her hand and she let it fall onto her lap. He reached out and touched her cheek, his fingers ghosting over her skin and she could feel her cheeks burning. "Kai... We should finish up here."

"I know." He muttered. "It's just... Somethings going to go wrong, I feel it."

"I feel it too." She replied. "Which is why we should go. Kai..." She didn't want to move away from him, her eyes  were drawn to his lips before she forced herself to look away and back up to his eyes. Which was just as bad. His pupils were dilated and the way that he was watching her- Irene knew that he wanted to kiss her, and she wanted to kiss him. She pushed herself away from him, nearly stumbling on legs that didn't want to obey her. 

"We can't do this here." She said, shaking her head. "Or now."

"You always say that." Kai said. "Though you're right about the here. Irene, why not? Why can't we be something more than friends?"

"I can't do this now." She muttered. "You are my student."

"I'm an adult."

"Yes. Yes you are. But you are still my student. It would be inappropriate. It would be crossing so many boundaries."

"The Library doesn't have any rules on it. I've checked." Kai said, more than a little smug, as he stood up.

"No, it doesn't. But I do." She put her back against the door and crossed her arms. "It's safer this way, Kai. For both of us. It won't end well. It can't end well."

"You don't know that."

"Trust me. I do." She said, shaking her head. "Just accept the fact that I am saying no, please Kai. Because I don't want to say no, it hurts to say no." Kai's head dropped. She did have feelings for him. She had all but confessed to that. But she'd also made it quite clear that she wouldn't act on them. That she would never act on them, at least, not whilst he was her student.

"Alright." He said softly. "Well, you know where to find me if you change your mind."

"I know I do." She said, almost managing a smile.

"Does this mean that asking you to kiss my head better is completely out of the question?" Kai said, giving her a smirk. Irene did laugh at that and she gently touched his cheek before she leant down to brush her lips across his forehead.

"All better?"

"All better." 


	131. Chapter 131

Irene woke up with someone's hands around her, someone pressed against her back. They were warm and gentle, one hand was on her stomach, the other trapped under her hip. She could feel their breathing, warm on her shoulder, bare due to the thin straps of the nightdress she'd brought with her, thinking that she'd have her own room. It wasn't like she was body shy though and whilst she hadn't wanted to share a bed with Kai, waking up like this wasn't awful.

There must have been a look in her eye because Kai didn't even try to suggest that they use the bed for anything but sleeping, something that she had been greatful for as she hadn't been in the mood by the time they'd got to the hotel and realised that they'd have to share a room.

She shifted and heard Kai groan before he tightened his embrace, burying his face in her hair. She didn't want to have to move. It was so comfortable and warm and it felt nice to be held like this. It had been so long since someone had wrapped her up in their arms and made her feel so safe. She slowly exhaled, she shouldn't get used to this, she was setting herself up for heartache.

"Kai?" She whispered, not wanting to startle him awake. "It's morning. We need to get to work." She felt a slow exhale brush her back. She lifted his hand off her stomach and she heard him make another groan of complaint.

"Mmm no." He complained. "Stay. Its too early."

"Its not. Its..." She shifted to look at the clock. "Oh. It is quite early." Six thirty in the morning. "You can have another hour. Let me up."

"But you're warm." He complained. "Get some more sleep, you need it."

"I'm fine." She said, but she didn't make a move to get out of the bed. "I suppose that it is a little warmer in the bed." A lot more comfortable and cozy, and she didn't want to leave his embrace. She was an adult, she could admit, if only to herself, that being held like this was bliss.

"Exactly. Stay here. We can sleep for another hour." His voice had a thick, husky quality to it, low and stroking that sent a warmth through her. "Can you get off my hand though?" She moved and a second later, Kai had his now free arm tucked under her neck and he pulled her back to his chest, resting his forehead on her shoulder. "Thanks. Don't like pins and needles."

"You could just let me get up."

"No. I want to stay here a bit longer, so I know you're safe." They'd been jumped the previous day, but Irene was certain that they hadn't been followed and hadn't particularly wanted to stay awake to keep watch for the first half of the night. Kai had sat up for a few hours to make sure, but he joined her in the bed at around one in the morning, waking her up first, to make sure that she didn't mind (she told him she didn't before falling asleep) and that she didn't want him to sleep on the pokey couch in the corner. At least she hadn't gone for the cheapest hotel room, not quite. It was a business hotel in the docklands, thirty minutes away from Central London on the rickety underground trains that haven't been replaced since the late eighties and seriously needed to be. Especially air conditioning, they really needed air conditioning.

"I can look after myself."

"I know, but right now you are in my arms, I know you are safe right now. And I am not going to say anything right now, I wouldn't do that to you. But you know how I feel and I know that you don't feel the same way. So if all we can ever be is friends, then I am going to take what I can to have you close." Irene tried not to sigh.

"You're saying it without saying it." She said. "You're my student Kai, we can't be any more than that. Us sharing a sharing a bed like this is as far as I am willing to push that line, but I will not cross it. I can't cross it."

"I understand. That doesn't mean I'm happy with it though." She sighed. "I suppose that I am happy if I get to be your friend, at the very least."

"Yes, you will always be my friend Kai." She said. "And I'm very rarely going to say no to a good hug." She could feel him laugh, the movement of his chest, the rush of breath over her skin. She smiled. "It's been longer than I want to admit since I've had someone hold me like this." She smiled. "I don't remember you deciding that I needed to be held, but it is nice."

"Its good to hold you." He said. "It's... Nice."

"It is. Go back to sleep."

"Yes, ma'am." She laughed, reminded of when they first met. "Boss. Madame?"

"Just Irene."

"Yes, just Irene." She dragged the covers up to bury herself into them. She hummed as Kai tightened his grip, he was pressed against her back and she was cradled against his chest, she probably couldn't find a safer place to be if she tried. She shut her eyes and a moment later, she was waking up when the alarm went off. 


	132. Chapter 132

* * *

"Love me!" Silver almost managed to smack Vale across the face as he flung his arms out. Instead, Vale managed to catch the hand before he'd inevitably end up with a bloody nose thanks to the dramatic Fae that he had the misfortune (or so he'd say) of sharing a bed with for the night.

"I love you. Now shut up and go to sleep." He said, dropping the hand.

"Would it kill you to show me a little more affection?" Vale sat up enough to read the clock.

"Its three in the morning. I'm not doing that, just go to sleep." Silver huffed.

"I, for once, did not mean it like that." He smiled. "My dear Peregrine, get your mind out of the gutter and move onto my side of the bed and cuddle me like a man!"

"Roll over." Vale said.

"Seriously? You're sulking because I want to cuddle instead of have sex?"

"Just do it." Vale muttered, and Silver did so. Vale moved closer, sliding his arm over Silver's hip and holding him tight against his chest. He smiled, with Silver against his chest, he made sure to entangle their legs so Silver would struggle to escape the tight embrace, he had Silver's head tucked underneath his chin and it was easy to brush a kiss to his hair. "See what happens when you aren't difficult?" Silver hummed, his eyes shut as he melted into Vale's protective embrace.

Vale had to release Silver in order to turn off the bedside lamp and pull the covers over them, but they quickly returned to the same position of Silver practically cradled against Vale's chest.

"Thank you." Silver whispered into the darkness, Vale's lips curled into a smile.

"Maybe don't nearly hit me in the face next time you want some attention?"

"But that is less fun." 


	133. Chapter 133

"You're one hell of a girl." Irene arched a brow, trying to do it as cool and elegant as Kai always managed, and probably failing. "One hell of a woman?"

"I'll take it." She said. "Why am I one hell of a woman?" She was fishing for compliments and they both knew it. Laying in the bed in her room, his bedroom was pretty much only for show, in case anyone came over and Irene could insist that they had a completely innocent, platonic relationship ('look, he sleeps in that bed and not with me. No he just is very tidy and likes to make his bed like that every day. Of course he actually sleeps there.') It was late and she'd been halfway to drifting off to sleep, wrapped up in the sheets and in his warm embrace, her head on his chest and being lulled to sleep by the lullaby that was his steady heart beat.

"Why aren't you?" He ran his fingers down her spine before they settle on her hip. "You may just be perfect." He kissed the top of her head. "Perfect to me at least, before you try to argue."

"I am highly flawed."

"And? We all are." He said, twitching his shoulder in a casual shrug. "I think your flaws are a part of you, and a part that I wouldn't change."

"Hopeless romantic."

"I prefer the term in love."

"That works too." 


	134. Chapter 134

"Bite me." Silver said, his voice pure smug.

"Have you ever said that and been bitten?" His curiosity got the better of him and he had to know.

"More times than I'd like to admit." Li Ming arched a brow. "Okay, that was a lie. A lot, and I enjoyed every single one of them." "I didn't need to know that." Li Ming rinkled his nose. "Nor did I want to."

"Aren't you...Curious?" Silver asked, his voice lowered and slipping into silky tones that made a tingle run down Li Ming's spine. "About?"

"About how it feels?" Silver purred, he reached out to touch the dragon's jaw, and Li Ming didn't pull away, even though logic screamed at him to do so. "About how it feels to toe the line between pleasure and pain. How good it can feel to let someone hurt you. You have to put your trust entirely on someone else, you have to give up the control, and it can be so freeing."

"How is letting someone control you freeing?" Li Ming's voice was still glacial cold.

"I don't know... You don't have to think about it, you don't have to do anything. You can just enjoy the sensations."

"I'm not a masochist."

"No? How boring. You should try it some time. You're so tense. It'll do you some good."

"Lord Silver?"

"Yes?"

"Go away."


	135. Chapter 135

"Can I kiss you?" Silver purred and Irene wanted to say no. She really should have said no. Saying anything but no would have made utterly no sense. She did not want Silver to kiss her. And she didn't want to kiss Silver. Only she found herself saying yes, and her heart was picking up and she was one hundred percent certain that he wasn't using his glamour. 

"Yes." She whispered. His lips were soft and warm as he kissed her. He ran his fingers across her cheeks and up onto her hair. She slid her hands around his shoulders and parted her lips against his, taking control of the kiss. She could feel his heart racing, just like hers. She felt the flicker of his tongue against hers and let out a soft moan against his lips. Silver smiled, before he pulled away from her. 

Irene caught her breath and carefully pulled herself away from him, taking a few steps back. 

"My little mouse." He purred, reaching out for her. She held her hand out and he paused.

"I... Should not have done that." She murmured, touching her lips. She swallowed. Her heart was still pounding and she wasn't sure if it was in anger with herself for letting him kiss her, him for kissing her (though he had asked), or herself for actually wanting to kiss him." I need to leave."

"You don't have to go." He said. "You can stay with me. You wanted me as much as I wanted you."

"I don't know if I can believe that." She said, she grabbed her bag. "Goodbye Silver. It's best we pretend that this didn't happen."


	136. Quarantine

Day #1

“You. Me. Quarantined for two weeks. Anything could happen.” Silver purred, dragging his right index finger up Li Ming’s arm, starting from the back of his hand and working his way up to just below the dragon’s shoulder. Li Ming slapped his hand away.

“Yeah. I may kill you. Or we may both get sick.” Of all the people to get stuck inside with, for an entire two weeks, it had to be an insufferable Fae intent with trying to bed any sentient creature with a pulse, himself included. He got up and brushed imaginary lint off his immaculate suit. “If you don’t mind, I do still have work that requires being done, quarantined or not. I imagine that you have… something?”

“I am sure I can come up with something to keep myself entertained.” Silver said with a flourish of his hand. “Have fun.”

* * *

 Day #2

Li Ming had seriously over estimated quite how much work he had to do and had managed to work his way through about a quarter of it in the first day of the quarantine. He spent the second one giving all of his belongings, and the rooms currently not being occupied by a certain Fae, a very thorough cleaning.

He did catch glimpses of Silver as he went about his day, he was mainly draping himself over various pieces of furniture, clearly preening and trying to gain his attention, he refused to let it work (though he was a little worried about what would happen if a Fae of Silver’s archetype couldn’t get the attention that they needed) and did his best to just avoid him.

* * *

Day #3

Silver was bored. Other than the few glimpses of the other dragon (it was downright sinful to look that attractive in shirt and trousers, with the shirt sleeves neatly rolled up to his elbows, though they had slipped down and Li Ming had clearly given up after a while and just shoved them up over his elbows) he was left to his own devices.

On the third day, Silver was tired of lingering and waiting for attention, if Li Ming was going to try and ignore him, then he would have to do his best to make him pay attention.

He waited until he knew that Li Ming was sorting through the papers on his desk before he knocked and barged into the study without waiting for a response. “I made coffee.” He said a little too proudly as he set the tray down. “Drink it with me and then you can go back to boring old work. And you don’t owe me a thing for this lovely cup of coffee, you drink it with milk and no sugar, right?”

“Right.” Li Ming said slowly. “I suppose that your payment is my attention for ten minutes?”

“If you want to think of it like that, then yes.” Silver said, smiling, showing a flash of his teeth.

“Then I do not want it.” Li Ming said, pushing the cup away. “And go away. I am busy.”

* * *

Day #6

He had run out of things to do on the fifth day of the quarantine. The paperwork was done, not that he could leave to return it to his majesty Ao Shun, and his office and room was immaculate. He supposed that thoroughly scrubbing down the kitchen wasn’t going to hurt anyone.

Silver walked in whilst he was on his knees scrubbing the floor.

“If this is your way of asking me to cook dinner tonight… it is working.” He said, Li Ming could feel his eyes on him, and he quickly got to his feet, aware that there was a flush to his face, but he would swear until he was blue in the face that it was because of how hot it was in the kitchen.

“If I wanted you to cook dinner then I would simply order you to do it.” Li Ming said, attempting casual disdain and entirely unwilling to admit that Silver had him at a disadvantage, he had won the point this time.

“I will have you know that I am an excellent chef.” Silver replied. “I will prove it to you tonight.”

“All you want is my company for an hour?”

“I wouldn’t say no to it.” Silver said with a toothy grin. “What do you say? I cook dinner, you can sit around and drink wine whilst you wait for it to be cooked. I will even wash up afterward.”

“You have a deal.” Li Ming said cooly, having someone else cook for him was a tempting offer, it wasn’t that he didn’t like cooking, it was that he couldn’t be bothered to put as much care into it as he should do. Silver grabbed his hand and before Li Ming could yank his hand away, he had brushed his lips across the back of his knuckles.

“We have a deal. And may I suggest you use some moisturiser?”

* * *

 Day #7

He slept in. Li Ming couldn’t remember the last time that he had slept in this late, but it was… good. He stretched out in the large and plush bed, his silver hair fanning out on the pillow around him. He would need to give it a thorough brush now, as he hadn’t tied it up before retiring for the night.

He’d spent longer in Silver’s company than he thought he would have done. And he had actually enjoyed himself, he loathed to admit it, but he had really enjoyed the evening, assisting Silver when it had been asked of him, imbibing on a few glasses of wine, probably more than he should have had done, the pair of them had emptied the wine bottle and were halfway through a second when they had called it a night.

Silver had kissed the back of his hand again, catching it as Li Ming set down the towel that he had been using to dry the wine glasses and Li Ming had forced down his blush and exerted a little control over his environment, dropping the temperature by a few degrees to cool himself down and hopefully soothe his heart. If Silver had noticed this reaction, he hadn’t said anything except to wish him a good night.

“Did you oversleep?” Silver asked as he came downstairs, hair damp from the shower. “The great and powerful lord Li Ming had a lie in. Oh you must fan me, I think that I may pass out.”

“I’ll leave you on the floor if you do.” Li Ming replied. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know.” Silver shrugged. “I’m bored. What are you planning on doing today?”

“I haven’t decided yet… Do you want a coffee?”

“I thought that you would never ask.”

* * *

 Day #10

“Think, you only have to deal with me for another four days.” Silver said, he had draped himself across a chaise lounge with some book that Li Ming didn’t recognise, though he assumed it to be licentious, in his hands. He reached for his bookmark. “Are you going to miss me?”

“No.” Li Ming lied.

“Not even a little bit?”

“Not even a little bit.”

* * *

 Day #11

Silver cooked dinner again, but Li Ming didn’t sit around to talk to him like he had done beforehand. He did the washing up, and he left Silver alone in the kitchen, staring after him before giving up and sitting down to nurse his glass of wine alone.

* * *

 Day #12

He was ready to leave, he just needed to get through the last two days. He needed to spread his wings and have a proper stretch. Li Ming didn’t like being cooped up inside. He needed the fresh air, to feel the wind on his skin, or scales, to feel it ruffle his hair. He wanted to feel the rain on his skin, or the snow if he could. Maybe he would go somewhere cold and icy for a few days of peace and alone time.

And nursing a mildly fractured heart, granted he had deliberately done the damage himself, but it still stung.

Who would have thought that within twelve days Silver would have gone from detestable to… desirable?

Leaving as soon as possible and never talking to him again was the best course of action. He couldn’t be with a Fae, he wouldn’t allow himself to stoop so low. Even fraternising with him was something to be frowned upon. He was beneath him.

God he wanted Silver beneath him.

He quickly schooled his wandering mind. Such thoughts simply would not do.

He entererd the study and stopped. Silver was at the desk. “Are you… doing work?” Li Ming asked very slowly in complete and utter confusion. As far as he was aware, Silver did not do any work. He was completely unproductive.

“I am.” Silver said, flicking his eyes up to look at him, sliding his gaze over Li Ming’s smart, three-piece suit. It was the first time since the first day of the quarantine that he had dressed so formally. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Not at all. I just thought that I would die of old age before I witnessed it.”

“Don’t you have a very long life span?”

“A very, very long one.” Li Ming nodded. “I stand corrected. Maybe you aren’t entirely useless.”

* * *

 Day #14

“I will miss you.” Silver said softly, Li Ming thought that he would manage to escape the house before Silver had woken up, but evidently, Silver hadn’t gone to bed. And evidently, he had had several drinks whilst he had been waiting. “I just wanted you to know that before you ran off to wherever dragons run off to.”

“Home.” Li Ming said after a long moment. “I was going home.”

“Was?”

“I don’t know if I believe in the concept.” Li Ming shrugged. “And I think that I will miss you too. In a weird, maybe I don’t entirely hate you, kind of way.”

“Kind of… I guess I will have to take that.” Li Ming took another step toward the door. “Will I ever see you again?”

“I don’t know.” Li Ming replied. “I suppose that you will, work takes me all over, and with the prince here, then I imagine that it wont be long before I return here. I must see to my Lord first.” Silver nodded. “What? Will you actually miss me?” He had meant to sneer it, to put some spin on it like he didn’t desperately want the man to say-

“Yes.” Silver confessed after a heartbeat. “I will.” Li Ming swallowed and set his case down by his feet. “I like to think that I have gotten under your scales.”

“If you mean that you irritate me, then yes. You have done a marvellous job of getting under my scales. Like a grain of sand.” God he hated sand.

Silver wasn’t sand though. Silver was too…

“I don’t hate you.” Li Ming found his mouth moving before his brain clocked on. “I have never hated you. It’s just that we are two very different men. We are two different for us to be anything more than what we are now.”

“Must we be?”

“I don’t think either of us are willing to change for the other.” Li Ming shook his head. “It isn’t in our nature to change like that. I am sure that it would probably destroy you if you tried to change for me. And if I tried to change for you-”

“You would lose everything. Which would destroy you, even if not literally.” Li Ming nodded. “I can understand that. Well. Goodbye. It has been a fun few weeks, working my way underneath your scales.” He nearly managed to smile. “I will see you whenever you are back next, I hope?”

“Maybe you can cook me dinner again.” Li Ming said. “I’ll bring the wine. And then we go back to pretending that we hate each other.”

“That sounds like a good plan.” Silver said. “I know exactly how to get on your nerves now, Li Ming. I think we drew this game, but I’ll win the next.”

“What are you talking about? I have won.” Li Ming said, smiling as he shook his head.

“How have you won?” Silver asked incredulously. Li Ming took a step closer to him.

“By doing this.” Li Ming ducked his head, he was about an inch and a half taller than Silver, and he kissed him. It was a soft, barely there kissing. Just a brush of his lips against Silver’s. Silver was quite taken aback by how cold Li Ming was, and he would have pulled back had Li Ming not stepped away first.

Silver stared at him.

“I will see you next time.” Li Ming said, it was very much a promise. “Good bye, Silver.”

I accidentally wrote a lot, and sorry it probably wasnt as fluffy as you wanted? I just… got abducted by an idea


	137. Chapter 137

“If you cough on me, I will end you.” Irene had only been clearing her throat, but the news articles of an unknown disease akin to influenza sweeping through the majority of Europe had caused some minor panic, including in Kai.

“I’m not sick.” She replied. “And you didn’t have any complaints last night last night when we-”

“Yes, yes.” Kai said, waving a hand to quickly shut her up. “Well, you weren’t coughing last night when we went to bed.”

“Heaven forbid I clear my throat.” Irene said, putting her book down. “I am going to make some tea, would you like some or are you worried that I may infect you if I can my grubby little fingers on your favourite tea cup?”

“Wash your hands, and then make me a cup of tea.” Kai said with a shrug. Irene got up and circled around the desk, she paused and touched his shoulder before she leant down, intending on kissing him. Kai flinched away before she could get too close to him.

“Kai.” She said, almost wining. “Your immune system is so much stronger than.”

“I thought that you weren’t sick.”

“Well, if I am sick then. If I am actually sick, you probably wont catch anything from me.” Irene said. “But I suppose, that if you are really worried about me being sick, maybe I’ll sleep in the spare room tonight, and you can make me a cup of tea instead.” She perched on the edge of his armchair and leant against his shoulder. “Does that sound like a good plan? I suppose… two weeks of quarantine in a separate room to you?”

“Well, no that seems like a bit too much.” Kai said. “Let’s not be hasty. Maybe you were just clearing your throat.”

“What was it that convinced you? Making me a cup of tea, or an empty bed for two weeks?”

“I am used to an empty bed.” Kai shrugged, nearly managing to knock her off the chair.

“It’s the cup of tea?”

“It’s having an empty bed and knowing that you are just through the wall.” He said. “It’s like… having you so close but being unable to reach you. Like when I was your student and you were convinced that we couldn’t be together.”

“I have some standards. Not very many, but some.” She said, she smoothed down an errant piece of his hair behind his ear. “I kind of like the idea of you pining.”

“I didn’t pine.” Kai protested. Irene laughed, but it turned into a cough. Her throat was beginning to hurt. “Okay, no, you are actually sick. Go to bed, I’ll bring you a cup of tea.”

“I’m fine.” Irene said, her eyes were burning and her voice was a little hoarse. “Just something at the back of my throat.” Kai got up and cupped her face, frowning a little. He touched her forehead with the back of his hand. “Kai, really.”

“Must you be so stubborn?” He muttered. “I think you have a fever. Do we have a thermometer?”

“Somewhere.” Irene said. “I don’t feel hot.”

“Well, I think that you are hot, and also you have a fever.” She tried to glare at him, but she had to laugh. “Go to bed. I’ll bring you some tea, and a thermometer, just to check.” He kissed her forehead.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. Even if you are sick.”


	138. Chapter 138

"Don't let go. Please… I'm scared. Please… Don't let go." Irene gasped, squeezing Kai’s hand as tightly as she could, but her hand was sweaty and she could feel herself slipping. Kai’s hand was like a vice around hers and she could feel his nails digging into her skin.

“I won’t.” Kai said, shaking his head. “Can you get footing on anything?” Irene flailed her feet.

“No.” She said. “Don’t let me fall.” There had been a fight, Irene wasn’t even sure how it had begun. They had been helping Vale, but he had disappeared at some point during the fight, and Irene had found herself barely able to keep her grip on the scaffolding currently around one of the towers of Westminster Abbey.

Kai held her left hand, he’d been holding her right as well but there was a wound gouged into her right shoulder and she’d nearly screamed in pain when he had tried to pull her up.

“I don’t want to fall.” She said, she knew that she was babbling, she couldn’t stop herself, she could hear her pulse in her ears, her mouth was dry and her stomach clenched. “I’m scared to die. I don’t want to die.”

“I’m not going to let you die.” Kai said. “Just keep holding my hand, I need to think.” He needed help, if there was anyone else to hold onto her, he could transform and catch her, he couldn’t transform in time to catch her before she hit the floor without assistance.

“Vale!” Kai shouted, looking around for the other man. “Where the hell has he gone?” Kai had his own injuries, but he ignored the pain and the sensation of his own blood dripping down the side of his face. “I know this is going to hurt you, Irene. I need you to give me your other hand or I can’t pull you up.”

Her right hand was slick with her own blood and her flingers slipped through his hand. She gasped in pain as it dropped down to her side. “I can’t do it.” She could feel tears in her eyes as she looked down at her dangling feet, and the floor some two hundred feet below her. She whimpered, unable to stop herself.

“Can you hold onto the ledge?” Kai said, maybe if you can hold on here, I can change form and catch you.”

“I don’t know.” She said, shaking her head, her breath was coming out in shaky gasps for breath. “Kai…”

“Don’t,” He said, shaking his head. “Whatever you are going to say, save it for when we get out of here.” He lay down on his front, Irene yelped, she reached for him with her other hand but couldn’t find a grasp, she smeared blood over his hand.

“I’m sorry, this is going to really hurt.” Kai said. He reached down and grabbed the upper part of her right arm, grasped her tightly and ignored the near scream of pain as he started to pull her up.

Kai slowly pushed himself up to sit back on his heels as he pulled her up and over the ledge. The pair fell backward into the room, Kai wrapped his arms around Irene. She was sobbing in his arms, her head rested on his collarbone.

“I’ve got you.” Kai said softly, he could feel Irene trembling in his embrace. “You’re safe, I’ve got you.” He sat himself back up again, keeping Irene wrapped up in his arms. He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I’ve got you. I won’t ever let you fall.”

Kai heard the shuffling of footsteps but he couldn’t bring himself to move, they were both in so much pain and completely exhausted. He tightened his grip around Irene and pressed his face to Irene’s hair. “Don’t let go.” He softly said to her.

“Strongrock?” Vale sounded as tired as they felt as he staggered into the room. “Winters… You’re both hurt.” He put his hand on the wall to support himself. “But you’re both alive. Thank… thank god.”


End file.
